Akame ga Kill: Ashura
by xAshurax
Summary: Hello beautiful people. Ashura here What you need to know: Tatsumi is an OC in this story. His name is Ashura. I will follow the anime but ill also include the manga here and there. Tatsumi goes on his journey with his friends Sayo and Ieaysu. And as we accompany him, we come to understand, that the innocent young man has gone through hell itself at a very young age.
1. Chapter 1

_**1 **_

_**Kill the hero**_

Death, hatred, pain, misery…

"Let´s go!" Ieaysu shouted excitedly. "Are you ready, Tatsumi?" Sayo asked. "Yes, I am sweetheart…" Tatsumi sighed. "It won´t be that bad. At least we´re together." Sayo tried to encourage him. "I guess you´re right…" Tatsumi agreed with a sigh. Tatsumi and Sayo entwined hands and joined up with Ieaysu." Alright, you lovebirds! Let´s go to the capital and become soldiers in the imperial army!" Ieaysu stated excitedly.

They left the northern village, in which they lived in for so long now, aiming straight for the capital. "Once we arrive in the capital, we have to find an enrollment center, so we can become soldiers in the imperial army." Ieaysu reminded thoughtfully. "You´re more quiet than usual, Tatsumi. Is something bothering you?" Sayo asked with concern in her voice.

"No, everything´s alright." Tatsumi denied, forcing a smile on his face. The thought of them potentially dying worried him. Even in his sleep. Since he was the strongest of them, he felt somewhat responsible for their safety. He wouldn´t be able to live with the guilt of having their blood on his hands. Ieaysu always admired Tatsumi for his fighting skills. Ieaysu often called him "killer machine" or "demon" as a joke.

Also he hated the Empire. For many reasons. One day, the village elder called him and told him, that they had to become soldiers in the imperial army, so they could support their village with enough money to pay the high taxes set by the government of the Empire. This wasn´t too hard for him, since killing was, what he could do best, but he had to watch out for them.

Over the years he formed his opinion. Even though he had Sayo and Ieaysu, life was rough in the village. Poverty was everywhere. Therefore there were many people, who armed themselves and robbed other people of their money and something to eat. These were bandit groups. Tatsumi blamed the Empire for it, because if they truly wanted, they could majorly decrease poverty.

In the meantime the sky turned dark. "How long is it to the capital?" Ieaysu asked. "A few hours. Let´s set up a tent and finish the rest of the road tomorrow." Sayo offered. "I´ll sleep under the stars, so you can sleep together you lovebirds." Ieaysu teased. "Oh, shut up!" Sayo returned annoyed. In the meantime Tatsumi was silently setting up a tent.

Sayo was worried. She knew, that Tatsumi was a rather quiet person. Sometimes he could be a very distant person. As if he was in another world. In his world. But aside from that, he was a very funny and charming person. That was why she loved him, but today it was rather "extraordinary".

He hasn´t uttered a single word since the start of their journey. Once he finished setting up, Sayo ignited a fire. "I can keep watch for tonight. I don´t sleep much anyway." Tatsumi stated monotone. "It´s ok. I´ll keep watch tonight. You seem off today. Take the night off, bro." Ieyasu kindly refused. Tatsumi nodded and went inside the tent. Once he entered, he suddenly felt weak and passed out. "Is this how you´re going to betray them?" A voice asked in his comatose state. Tatsumi couldn´t answer. He felt his consciousness fading and thus giving in to darkness.

"Something seems bothering him…" Ieaysu started,while staring into the fire. "yeah,definitely…" Sayo agreed. "I mean it´s nothing new, that he can be distant sometimes, but today he seemed deep in thought." Sayo added. "Does he have an illness?" Ieaysu asked. "Not that I knew…" Sayo replied. "Oh no, you two plan on separating." Ieaysu deduced. "Hell no! Of course not." Sayo denied. "Then…when did you two have sex the last time?" Ieaysu asked.

"We never had sex, you damn idiot! I swear, one day I´ll slap your non-existent brain out of your head." Sayo responded annoyed. "Jokes aside…What do you think?" Ieaysu continued. "I think it has something to do with the Empire. He´s not a big fan of it. I just hope we get used to it, once we´re there." Sayo stated. "We have to…" Ieaysu added. Sayo let out a yawn. "I´m going to sleep now. You got this, right?" Sayo asked tired.

"Sure. Good night." Ieaysu nodded. With this, Sayo entered the tent, sleeping next to Tatsumi. He awoke to Sayo´s silent steps. She embraced him from behind, spooning him. "Good night, Sayo." Tatsumi said. "Good night, Tatsumi". Sayo returned, pulling him closer. With this they fell asleep. Around 1am (midnight)…

"Noooo!" Tatsumi screamed. He shot up, awaking Sayo as well. "Are you alright?" Sayo asked worried. "Just a bad dream. It´s nothing. Let´s sleep again." Tatsumi lied, breathing heavily. "Are you sure?" Sayo asked still concerned. "Yes, let´s just sleep." Tatsumi repeated. "If you say so…" Sayo gave in. Tomorrow 11am…

"Just an hour. Then we are in the capital." Sayo informed. "Great." Ieaysu commented. Tatsumi remained silent. As usual, he only slept two hours. He took a look around. He registered, that some people were hiding in the bushes. "Guys, we´re not alone…" Tatsumi alerted his friends. Suddenly a group of bandits attacked the trio.

Tatsumi drew his sword, while Sayo readied her bow and Ieaysu got out his throwing knives. "When we´re done with them, I want to have some fun with the girl." A bandit said. "Crap! They have us heavily outnumbered." Ieaysu stated. "Doesn´t mean they´re stronger." Sayo returned, aiming her bow. "Guys, you go ahead. I will deal with them. I am going to catch up with you later." Tatsumi said. "you sure?" Ieaysu asked. Tatsumi nodded. "See you later. Don´t you dare not coming back to us." Sayo said, before running ahead.

1vs20. "Who is going to win?" Another bandit taunted. Tatsumi remained silent. "How about you give me the answer?" he taunted. Tatsumi didn´t respond. "Hey, you idiot! I´m talking to you." The bandit yelled. "Try talking to me, when I hold your heads in my hand. Tatsumi replied coldly. With this Tatsumi charged forward and impaled one, before they even knew what hit them. Then he cut four of them in half with a single sideslash.

1vs15. "Charge at him! He can´t kill all of us at once" A bandit shouted. 5 bandits charged at him, while the others were still shocked. Tatsumi slid under the legs of a bandit and cut them off, killing him. He stabbed one in the chest, reverted his sword and impaled another one. He quickly took it out and beheaded the other 2 with a single sideslash.

1vs10. The other bandits watched in shock, how Tatsumi easily killed them. "He´s a demon!" A bandit shouted in panic. Again, Tatsumi cut through 5 of the remaining 10.

1vs5. The few bandits watched a professional at his work. They were people they would be deadly, but in truth, death was standing in front of them, mercilessly cutting through their companions. "Retrea…t" the leader of the group tried to utter, but before he could he was impaled. The others were running, turning their backs towards Tatsumi. He chased after them, impaling 3.

1vs1. The last slowly lost speed. Tatsumi decided to make him trip, causing the bandit to fall on his back. "Please spare me! We won´t attack you again." the bandit begged. "There is no mercy for people, who make others suffer for their own good. There is only punishment. Eternal hell, the only true punishment." Tatsumi stated coldly, before beheading the bandit.

1vs0. Tatsumi resheathed his sword and moved forward. "That´s weird…" Tatsumi thought in front of the capital. "I should have caught up to them earlier. I didn´t take too much killing the bandits." Tatsumi wondered. "I´m going to catch up with them in the city probably." Tatsumi tried to assure himself. Tatsumi entered the massive city known as the capital. He could see people everywhere. Their faces were deprived of hope and happiness. "I could ask some people, if they´ve seen Sayo and Ieaysu." Tatsumi thought. He went around and asked, until he heard another conversation. He joined the conversation.

"Have you heard of "Night Raid"?" A young woman asked Tatsumi visibly terrified. "No, what is that?" Tatsumi asked in return. "It´s an assassin guild, who eliminates rich people and high executives in the military and government at night." The young woman explained. "What else is known about the victims?" Tatsumi questioned. "There are rumors, that many of their targets are corrupt, but that´s only a rumor." The woman revealed. "Would be the perfect job for me." Tatsumi laughed in irony.

"But they are terrorizing the capital." The woman argued. "You have no idea who the true terrorist is. Once he´s dead I´ll tell you who it was." Tatsumi responded. The woman returned the statement with a confused look in her face. "Anyway…have you seen a young girl with a purple kimono, a white flower in her black hair and a boy next to her? They are both my age." He asked hopefully. "I´m sorry, I haven´t." The woman answered, causing the young traveler to sigh.

"Do you know where I can find an enrollment center for the imperial army?" Tatsumi inquired without any trace of motivation. "Sure, they´re everywhere. I think the next one is only a few streets away. When you reach the end of the street, go right and then always straight." The woman instructed. "Thank you for your help." Tatsumi briefly said. He looked up towards the gigantic, magnificently decorated palace, in which the emperor resided. The ruler of this county was merely 15 years old and "under guidance" of his loyal servant prime minister Honest.

"Why am I not surprised, that everything stinks after corruption here? To believe, that a child even younger than me could normally rule over an entire country is stupid. There has to be some influence by power hungry degenerates." The teen thought at the sight of the ginormous building, on which the sun gently shone its light upon. He could even feel the wind offer heavy resistance on his way to the agency, which would seal his fate as normal foot soldier of the imperial army.

As he reluctantly strolled through the alley, he came across some wanted posters of several "Night Raid" assassins, though one really caught his attention. "Akame" it said. "I wonder who these people are?" he thought fairly interested. The enrollment center crossed his sight now and with a few more heavy steps he stood in front of the rather small building.

"Why am I doing this? I don´t want that," Tatsumi protested in his mind. "But I have to protect them. I must." He scolded himself as an attempt to reason with himself. "Let´s get it over with…" The young man sighed, as he came closer to the wooden door with every step he forced his legs to take. He closed his eyes and pushed the door aside, that separated him from his future as employee of the empire. Once he entered, he found out, that he would be starting out as a grunt.

"I´m sorry, but could I please start out as a captain or something? I could show you my skills." Tatsumi politely questioned. Immediately he got thrown out by the secretary. "We have way too many applicants at the time than to make any stupid idiot from the countryside a soldier." The middle-aged man yelled, before smashing the door closed. "So much for that…" Tatsumi sighed.

Suddenly he recognized a busty, blonde woman standing in front of him. "Looks like you´ve caused a scene and got thrown out." She guessed with a small chuckle. "I wouldn´t call it a scene, but yes." Tatsumi sighed. "So you´re a boy from the country, who wants to make it big in the capital?" The young woman figured. "Something like that…" He admitted desperately. "I could help you to become a captain. I have good connections." The blonde offered. "Why would you want to help me?" Tatsumi questioned. "Because you look cute." She stated with red cheeks. "Really?" he asked in disbelief. "yes and I´m real hungry, so why don´t you just treat me to lunch?" She proposed with a huge drin across her face. "I doubt that you want to get familiar with someone like me." Tatsumi refused, while he looked down on the ground.

"Hey. I´m Leone. And your name is…" She introduced herself in order to cheer him up. "Tatsumi…" He uttered. "See? Was that so hard?" Leone grinned. "No, nice to meet you." Tatsumi greeted her happily. "Nice to meet you too. Now let´s get to lunch, shall we sunshine?" Leone offered, already taking his hand and dragging him behind her. "Sure…" he agreed. At the restaurant…

They sat in the corner of a rather nicely decked out restaurant, where they could speak freely about all different kinds of stuff. "Ahhh! Nothing is better than a beer in the afternoon." Leone stated already a bit drunk. "You said you could make me a captain in the imperial army…" he said, turning to the main subject of this whole conversation. "Alright, here´s the plan. If you want to become a captain in the imperial army, you need connections and money. I know a guy in the imperial army. I could grease his palm with some money." Leone formulated as a rather obvious solution for his predicament. "Of course." Tatsumi nodded, as he got out a decently sized bag of money. "That should be enough." He said. "Wow, where did you get all that stuff?" Leone inquired amazed. "I killed a lot of danger beasts and entire squadrons of imperial soldiers." Tatsumi revealed, adding the latter accidentally.

"So you´re quite strong?" Leone deduced surprised. "No, not really." Tatsumi denied, lowering his head. "Don´t worry, you´ll become captain in no time" Leone promised excitedly. "Wait!" he stopped her. "Huh?" Leone turned to him. "If I´m honest, I don´t want to work for the empire." Tatsumi admitted. "Why is that?" Leone asked surprised. "It´s simple. If you know what the empire truly is and what it has done to its people, you couldn´t protect it." Tatsumi explained with traces of rage and sadness in his voice. Sure he would have to explain to Sayo and Ieaysu why he won´t join the military, why he simply can´t. But he was sure they would understand, once he tells them his story. "Ok, so what do you plan on doing then?" Leone questioned a bit flustered.

"If I´m honest, I´d rather join Night Raid." Tatsumi admitted with a serious look on his face. "Oh, sounds interesting." Leone said in an amused tone. "But you surely know what that means, right?" she asked. "They are all murderers and could be executed at any moment. I know. It´s not like they are heroes or something. But "murderer" is like my second name and I hardly care about my death at this point, so might as well do something for the people." Tatsumi responded.

"So you want to bring justice to the people?" Leone figured. "That´s only a result. My last and only wish is to kill the prime minister and his corrupt fellows, so there can be justice in the process, even if I had to become an even greater evil than the prime minister himself." Tatsumi said coldly. "So you hold a personal grudge against him and there´s a story to it, right?" Leone asked quite astounded.

"It´s a long, boring story. Don´t want to bother you with it…"Tatsumi lied, forcing a smile on his face, though she could clearly see the grief and sorrow in his eyes. "He must have gone through hell and came right out of it at such a young age, that he´s probably traumatized and now he wants to do everything to destroy his sworn enemy, even if it meant hell for him." She thought to herself, deciding not to pour salt into the wound.

"Oh crap!" Leone registered in shock. "What is it?" Tatsumi asked confused. "It´s already that late and I still have to show up somewhere. Would you mind paying? I´ll repay you for sure." She explained nervously. "It´s okay, you don´t have to. I´m going to pay the bill." He assured her calmly. "Thanks, I really need to go now." Leone said walking to the door of the restaurant. "Wait a second!" He ordered quickly, as he approached her. "Thanks for the wonderful time." Tatsumi uttered grateful. "I had a blast too" She agreed happily.

"I can´t shake the feeling, that we´re going to meet each other soon." Tatsumi admitted. "Yeah, me too." She giggled. "What an interesting person…" she thought, as she left. After she exited the restaurant, he heard some soldiers talking about Night Raid being a major threat and that they would terrorize the country and its leaders, thus endangering peace within the capital, but he didn't pay much attention to the conversation. For him it was quite the opposite. Actually the leaders were the terrorists and terrorized the people. And there was nothing that could change his opinion, because he saw it himself.

After he exited the restaurant he recognized his "minor liquidity problems." "It was fun, but now I´m flat out broke." He thought, sighing desperately. "Well then…that means sleeping on the street. I wonder where Sayo and Ieaysu are. They probably signed up for their soldier jobs and we just missed each other…" he told himself in order to calm himself. Shortly after closing his eyes a carriage drove past him, coming to a halt at his location.

A little, blonde girl emerged from the carriage. "You could come to my mansion, so you don´t have to sleep on the road." The small girl offered with a kind grin. "Why would a rich girl up a random boy from the street?" he thought to himself in suspicion, but he didn´t want to appear rude, so he took the generous offer. "Thanks, I appreciate it." he thanked her and accompanied her to the mansion. As they arrived there, he politely greeted the family and thanked them for taking him in. They talked for a bit until Tatsumi decided to take a walk."I would go catch some fresh air, if you don´t mind." He asked politely.

"Whatever you please, Tatsumi." Aria the girl who was so kind to pick him up replied with an innocent smile. He was walking around the yard, thinking about the family. They seemed to be an average rich family and pretty kind at that, although he felt suspicious, that they offered him food like five times, but he politely refused, because he literally couldn´t eat for the next 3 days due to the meal he had in the restaurant.

For one second he thought "do they add something to their food to…" even if it was just for a second, fear was now prevalent in his mind. He forcefully these initially farfetched thoughts and convinced himself, that he was overly cautious to the point of what many people would refer to as paranoia and that he should calm down. He recognized the door of the barn being slightly open.

He rung with himself, if he should take a peek or if he should just return to Aria and the rest of the family. Even if so, what was he supposed to find except some animals? Furthermore it´s highly rude to look into the privacy of others without their permission, yet his suspicion and curiosity won over him and he looked into the barn only to be shocked by what he discovered.

Masses of disfigured, massacred corpses were hanging inside the barn, which made the whole scenery extremely accurate to a slaughterhouse. He discovered Ieaysu hanging on a gallow with his body massacred and tortured. To add to the already immense brutality the corpses symbolized as testimony of atrocity, Ieaysu was also missing his right leg.

He feared to walk in, because he dreaded, that Sayo would be in this hell as well. He finally found her lying in a cell, after he had to make his way through what felt like an eternity of death. He ran towards her and quickly freed her out of the cell. "Sayo! What did they do to you?" Tatsumi asked shocked. "On the way to the capital, they picked us up and gave us something to eat. Then we suddenly passed out and they drugged and tortured and god knows what else to us. That little bitch beat Ieaysu to death, but he didn´t give into her." Sayo whispered barely audible.

"Listen! You´re going to be okay. Just hold on!" He desperately shouted at her, while tears formed around his eyelids. "Tatsumi…I…" She whispered, slowly seizing his stuttering hands with her fragile ones. "No! Stop! You´re going to be fine! Just…Don´t leave me…" He desperately pleaded. "I´m sorry… Please be strong and move on. I love you so much." Sayo uttered sadly. "I love you too. Don´t be sorry. It´s all my fault. I should have kept you safe."

Tatsumi returned while his whole body trembled. He pressed his lips Sayo´s, while tears streamed down their faces. He could feel the passion but also the unending sadness Sayo put into the kiss. And it destroyed him from inside. "Don´t leave me…" Tatsumi repeated silently. "I´ll always be with you…We always will." Sayo assured him calmly, as she gently stroked his left cheek. Shortly after their final liplock ended, Sayo closed her eyes and passed away. He kissed Sayo on the forehead.

"I´m sorry, Sayo… I have failed you…" Tatsumi whispered weakly, dropping a tear on Sayo´s corpse. Meanwhile the moon replaced the sun and illuminated the night, though the darkness of a night could not come close to the darkness that reigned within Tatsumi. Now he felt truly alone again. He just wanted to come back in and wreck havoc.

He just wanted to turn this mansion into a slaughterhouse like the one he currently found himself in, but he had to stay calm. He wanted to wait, until everyone was asleep. He needed some rest, even if it was just for 1 or 2 hours. He came back in and informed the secretly twisted family that he would rest due to the exhausting trip to the capital. He thanked the family for letting him sleep in their house without any trace of emotion.

"Alright, Tatsumi. See you tomorrow. "Aria said with another practiced smile as sweet and venomous as honey. He entered his bedroom and prepared everything for the massacre that would ensue tonight. He was lying in bed, trying to rest, but he couldn´t. He would relive the same nightmares he has witnessed over and over again. It occurred to him, that one and a half hours have passed, since he went to bed. Everyone except maybe some guards, who had to patrol at night, seemed to be asleep.

"Messatsu." (A/N: Messatsu (jap.)-Annihilation) Tatsumi mumbled in a monotone, yet murderous voice. He grabbed his swords and started killing off guards. He assassinated them before they knew what hit them and he enjoyed every moment of it. He came across Aria´s mother, who he quickly cut in two. After several more guards which he disposed of completely unnoticed, Aria´s father crossed his path. Tatsumi immediately grabbed him by the throat. "Please have mercy! I have a daughter! Spare her please!" The father begged.

"Like you did with my friends? Fine, I´ll send her to hell as well." Tatsumi shouted at him enraged before he crushed the father´s neck, leaving him dead on the blood-stained floor. He overviewed the mansion and noticed, that 4 targets remained, including Aria. He could feel his wrath take control of him entirely and his emerald-green eyes turned bloodshot-yellow due to the immense rage that the sight of her induced into him. "Messatsu" he mumbled rage-driven. He lunched forward and killed the 3 guards within a matter of seconds.

"What? They´ve all been killed?" A purple-haired woman asked in surprise, over-viewing the mansion from above. "Yes" A young, raven-black-haired woman replied in a monotone voice. "Do we have to intervene?" The purple-haired woman questioned. "I think not." A green- haired man answered. "Man, he´s killing them off with such ease. He could be on the same level as Akame." A tall man in heavy, light-grey armor considered. "Maybe. He seems to be strong." The black-haired woman returned emotionlessly. "We could pay him a visit and ask him, if he wants to join us." A blonde woman proposed curiously, yet with some sort of excitement in her voice. Why would we want him?" A pink-haired girl argued rather annoyed. "Come on! Give him a chance, Mine." The blonde woman returned, earning an annoyed huff from the girl. Back to Tatsumi…

He started closing on Aria as if a rope was tightening around her throat, waiting to choke with his sword and face drenched in blood. His yellow-bloodshot eyes still burned with rage and hatred, making him look like a demon, while he killed off any remaining soldier like a shadow of death. "Why?" Aria asked afraid, fully aware of her soon coming end.

"Was it fun?" Tatsumi demanded with a demonic voice, barely recognizable from his normal voice. "What do you mean?" she asked scared and helpless like a small girl caught in a nightmare. "Was it fun to treat them like some animals from the countryside and torture them to death?" Tatsumi repeated angrily. "Of course. Especially the idiot I hung up and the bitch with the purple Kimono. They should be thankful, that a generous and beautiful lady like me paid these worthless outsiders some attention." Aria admitted, as her face twitched into a twisted and sadistic grin.

"I´ll wash the world clean from you. Messatsu!" Tatsumi screamed in utter rage and hatred, while he sliced her in two. Although he she was finally dead and Sayo´s as well as Ieaysu´s death was avenged, he felt nowhere near satisfied. He wanted to ravage her, to utterly annihilate her. He started to scream and began to cut and stab her corpse violently. It was a sight that could be described as "overkill", if that even came close.

Suddenly he heard two people approaching him, causing him to stop his murderous rush to face possible intruders. As he turned, he was first blinded by rage, but after a second, he realized, that Leone stood right in front of him! His eyes turned back to their normal emerald-green color. He was highly surprised to meet her at this disgusting and gloomy place.

"Leone?! What are you doing here?" He asked in surprise, while also taking a look at the black-haired woman next to her. She was wearing a sleeveless, black blouse with a black and white striped collar. She was also wearing black gloves, which covered most of her underarms. She was also wearing red armor plates on her underarms over her black trench coat, which covered more or less her whole height. She was wearing black boots, which came close to her knees. Her skin color was cream and she had a sword on her left hip. "I could ask you the same, Tatsumi." Leone returned with a teasing grin. "Looks like you´ve done our work. We were sent off to kill these bastards, but it seems you took care of that." Leone reviewed with a satisfied smirk. "They lured people from the country into their mansion and drugged them. They inflicted illnesses on their victims and tortured them as the diary of the mother revealed."Akame added monotone.

"I know…I saw it myself. They picked me up today, so I would have been next. I was very suspicious from the start and they asked me like every ten seconds, if I wanted to eat something. Then I entered the barn and my suspicions confirmed themselves. Also, if Night Raid is after them, they have to be disturbed people. Her last words were, that she enjoyed torturing her victims…She killed my friend, who was like a brother for me and my girlfriend, who I loved…but…I avenged them." Tatsumi responded with a cold, monotone voice.

"Oh God! Are you okay, Tatsumi?" Leone asked in shock. "Pretty much…" He replied coldly. "Anyway…you´re from Night Raid, right?" he assumed. Akame simply nodded. "Do you recruit new members?" He asked. "That is what we wanted ask you. From what we have heard from Leone you already think and talk like us. You seem promising, so are you going to join us?" Akame questioned monotone, giving him a piercing glare.

"Thanks. I would be honored to join you and assist you in your cause. So yes, I´m going to join." He responded grateful. "It´s not like I would have a place in this world…" Tatsumi thought depressed. Akame´s cold glare softened. Good. Mission accomplished. Return to base." Akame stated in her monotone voice. Leone and Tatsumi added in agreement. "Would you mind, if I carry the corpses of my friends to your base and bury them somewhere near?" he asked hopefully. "No, we can help you carrying them." Leone assured him. "Thanks, it means a lot to me." Tatsumi said.

"Let´s leave this disgusting place." Leone proposed, so they could meet up with the other Night Raid members. "Bulat, can you carry the boy back to base? We´re gonna bury them as soon as we arrive." She ordered. "Ok." The tall man nodded, taking the corpse.

Meanwhile Tatsumi carried Sayo´s dead corpse in his arms. He fought with tears during the way, but managed to suppress them. He silently dug two graves and cautiously laid down their scarred bodies. Every stroke of the shovel felt heavy and daunting, almost impossible and the pain of wielding it became excruciatingly unbearable with each second that he had to have it in his hands.

After the burial, he stared at Sayo´s grave captivated by her memory, as if she was trying to drag him down with her. "I´m sorry, Sayo…I have failed you…" He whispered utterly depressed, while he dropped a tear on her grave. He went to his bedroom to get some rest. As soon as he was lying in bed, he could feel a sudden exhaustion tugging at him and soon darkness washed over him. Throughout the whole burial Akame watched Tatsumi. "What horrible things have you been through, Tatsumi?" She asked herself, before finally going to sleep...

12


	2. Chapter 2

_2_

_Kill the Innocence_

„Ngh…" Tatsumi awoke, sitting up on the bed. "Sayo and Ieaysu are dead… Why am I still here? Why am I such a failure? I just want to die…" Tatsumi thought in utter despair and depression. He already missed them dearly, because he knew they would never return to him. He would never kiss her again. He wished he never knew love, because the pain of losing it literally killed him from inside. Their deaths were his fault and he knew it.

He hated himself for being so stupid and weak. He hated himself for having caused the deaths of his friends. He hated himself more than anything. "But…" he tried to calm his mind. "I have one final mission. Once I took revenge, I can finally be forgotten and join them." Tatsumi made up his mind. "But…for the time being…I have to act casual and funny, so they won´t suspect anything. I don´t want to drag them into my hell." He lectured himself.

He would just pretend that everything is fine like he always did, even though on the inside he felt broken. In the end, it was his burden alone. The guilt and misery he loaded upon himself. "I have to move on." He ordered to himself, standing up from the bed. Truth was he never moved on. He never could. Yet he stood. And moved forward. The hatred towards others gave him the necessary willpower to move out of bed.

"I should look for Leone…" He thought, leaving his room. He walked down the stairs, arriving in the dining room. What merely was an effort of few seconds appeared to him like a lifetime. He spotted a purple-haired woman, who was reading a book called "100 ways to clear airheadness". She was wearing glasses and a body long light-purple dress. Additionally she was wearing light purple sleeves, which were covering her entire arms. She was also wearing white socks, which were covering almost her entire leg and over them she was them she was wearing white boots. Her long, open purple hair reached the end of her back.

"Oh, you're awake. You've been out for 3 days. You joined us back at the mansion, right?" She said with a curious look in her deep purple eyes. "Yes…apparently." Tatsumi answered groggily, while he went through his brown hair. "You would kill me anyway, if I didn't." Tatsumi joked. "That's pretty much it." She confirmed seriously. "Well…that's encouraging." Tatsumi continued joking. "What´s your name by the way?" he asked.

"I´m Sheele and your name is Tatsumi, right?" she responded. "Yes. Uhm…How come you're an airhead?" he asked, making her sweatdrop. "That's a long story." Sheele said, blushing a little bit. Meanwhile Leone entered the dining room. "Oh, look who's up. " Leone acknowledged amused, shoving Tatsumi into her breasts.

"Can't breathe…let me go." Tatsumi pleaded, as he was suffocating, before Leone finally released from her hug. "How about I'm gonna show you around" Leone offered with a cheerful expression. The newcomer nodded, still trying to maintain his breathing. "I guess you already got to know Sheele, so next I'm gonna introduce you to…" Leone started excitedly.

Suddenly a very girly, bossy voice interrupted the rather relaxed conversation. "Morning…what is this noob still doing here, Leone? It's obvious, that he's not made out of the same professional cloth as we are. Get him outta here for god's sake!" A pink- haired girl yelled venomously across the whole room. "Does she hate me or something? Have I done some something wrong in my time here" Tatsumi asked worried.

"No, that's typical of Mine. Don't worry, she's the same towards us." Leone whispered back. "Nice to meet you, Mine." He greeted her in a monotone voice. "yeah, yeah. Hello Tatsumi. Try not to screw up." Mine mumbled, not even making an effort to look at him. The pinkette was wearing a pink dress with pink sleeves, pink ballerinas and a black pantyhose underneath. She had her pink hair tied in two long, flat tails, adorned by a light-pink ribbon at each side. Tatsumi came closer to Mine.

"I hope we'll be good friends." He politely said, trying his best to restrain his rage. Mine continued to ignore him, further testing his patience. "Let's continue, sunshine." Leone announced. "Ok, that's our training grounds. Here you can hone your skills. It seems one already reeks after sweat." Leone explained, pointing at a tall man with astounding, muscular stature. He was practicing sequences with a wooden training spear, releasing a storm after a furious swing.

"He's awesome!" Tatsumi acknowledged in excitement. "Hey, Bulat. How's it goin'?" Leone asked casually. "Hey Leone. Aren't you the fellow we picked up recently. Name's Bulat. Pleasure's mine." The assassin introduced himself, stretching out his hand to his potentially new comrade. "Hi, I'm Tatsumi. Nice to meet you." He returned, shaking Bulat's hand. "Oh and Tatsumi…he´s gay. Leone added in an effortless, but teasing manner. "Hey, don't give him the wrong idea…yet." Bulat chuckled.

"It's cool. To me only personality matters. Although, probably to your disappointment, I'm perfectly straight." Tatsumi stated with a grin on his face. "It's cool. Well…See you then." Bulat said, ready to return to training. "Let's train together some time." Tatsumi added, before, leaving. "Sure." He screamed in his direction. "So who's next?" Leone asked herself excitedly. "Oh, I have someone in mind." She hummed.

"It's time for Leone's bath. I can't wait to take a peek." A green-haired boy mumbled in anticipation, while he laid on the edge of a cliff, over-viewing the hot springs with his binoculars. "Ahhh…" He suddenly yelled in pain. "Next time you do that, I'm gonna break your arm! Are we clear, you pervert?" Leone shouted at him, while she tightly held his right arm in her clutch. "Yes…Ok." He resigned.

"This is Lubbock…obviously he's an idiot. "Leone introduced him fairly annoyed. "Hi, I'm Tatsumi." He greeted slightly confused. "Come on, Tatsumi! Let's move on," Leone pouted, dragging away from Lubbock. "Only one left." She sighed. "Is it the girl, who was with you at the mansion?" He figured methodically. "You mean Akame? Guess you're right. She's one of our strongest." Leone answered. After some walking they found her roasting a danger beast. "What's up, Akame?" The blonde greeted her casually.

"Leone…have some." Akame said, tossing her an evil bird meat drumstick. "You are finally awake. We started worrying about your condition, but you are fine. Will you join us?" Akame asked, eyeing Tatsumi sharply with her crimson-red eyes, as if she was seeing through his soul.

For a second he lost himself in her crimson-red eyes, even though this color triggered rather negative emotions inside him, but now it didn´t seem to bother him at all. "Yes, I'm going to join. You seem to be a pretty… interesting group of people." Tatsumi answered, snapping out of his stare.

"Then have some meat too, Tatsumi." Akame said, tossing him a meat drumstick. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He returned politely. "I don't know why, but everyone seems super jacked up today." Leone pointed out. "That is because the boss has returned." Akame responded. "The boss?" Tatsumi asked.

In response a silver-haired woman with an eyepatch on her right eye and a prosthetic right arm revealed herself. She was dressed in a black suit as if she was typical businesswoman "Oh, hello ma'am." Tatsumi greeted her, bowing to her, while standing. "Please…you don't have to bow to me. Just call me "boss" and greet me like everyone else, ok?" She commanded in a kind way.

"Understood, boss." He nodded. Her presence was overwhelming, yet assuring in a way. He couldn't describe it to himself. "I'm calling a meeting. I want to hear everything about the recent events, including Tatsumi." The leader announced. "Ok, I'm coming with you." Leone decided. "When will the meeting start?" He asked. "In 1 hour." Najenda responded. "I will stay here for a bit longer." Akame said, pointing to the huge portion of meat that was still remaining. "I think I´ll be staying here for a bit too." Tatsumi added.

Shortly after the boss and Leone departed, Akame registered that she was alone with Tatsumi. "Please…sit." Akame ordered, pointing towards the space next to her. "Thanks." He said, sitting down next to her. He distantly stared into the fire, while the other assassin chewed on another meat drumstick. "You´ve caught that by yourself, right? You've got to be pretty strong." Tatsumi complimented, trying to start a conversation in order to distract himself from his self-destructive thoughts.

"Thanks. You seem promising yourself." Akame replied. "Not if you ask Mine." Tatsumi joked. "Don't worry. Typical of Mine." She returned briefly. "She seems rather reserved." He thought. "You had yellow-bloodshot eyes." The young woman informed him. "Did I?" He asked, remembering that dreadful night. Akame simply nodded. This always happens, when I'm in extreme pain, rage or hatred..." Tatsumi explained, staring into the fire with a distant look in his eyes. How did you acquire this power?" She inquired in her monotone voice.

"I don't know…" The boy lied. He just didn't want to bother her with his past. "She wouldn't care anyways…" he thought. "Besides…do you plan on eating this alone? I'm starving." Tatsumi tried to lighten up the mood. "Sure. Feel free to eat." Akame said, returning her focus back to consuming the lifeless animal.

"But enough of me…Did I miss anything while I was asleep?" He asked intrigued in hopes of some assassin stories. "No" Akame answered shortly. "You were talking during your sleep." She added. "What did I say?" He asked surprised. "I'm sorry, Sayo…I have failed you." Akame quoted. "You often screamed too." Akame pointed out with concern in her voice.

Tatsumi was shocked. His face color turned pale. "How did she know?" Tatsumi asked himself. "It was probably a hallucination or a drawback of my powers." He lied, pretending not to know what she was referring to. She didn't buy it and he knew she wouldn't. He just didn't want to involve her in the atrocities he witnessed.

"How are you feeling?" Akame asked. "Well…a bit tired. Just woke up an hour ago." Tatsumi responded bluntly. "No, I mean…How are you feeling?" She rephrased, turning her concerned face towards him and investigating his troubled emerald green-eyes with her crimson-red orbs. He turned his face away from her blank stare and distantly gazed up the blue, cloudless sky. "Nothing. I feel nothing." Tatsumi replied monotone. Silence followed. "I suggest we head back to baseand attend the meeting punctually. I don't want to start off with bad first impressions with my future boss." He joked artificially to distract from the actual topic. Akame nodded, while she swallowed down the last piece of meat. "Fine, let's go." Tatsumi said, forcing a grin on his face to assure the assassin, that he's fine, even though he absolutely wasn't. It couldn't hide anything from her. She almost read him like a book. She turned to face him still expressing her concern and worry about the well-being of her comrade with her crimson-red eyes. Back at the base…

The meeting started shortly after the two arrived. After reviewing the past days, Akame took the word. "We went to the mission as you ordered, but Tatsumi has already eliminated all of our targets." She revised monotone. "Nice work, sunshine." Leone cheered across the room. Najenda began to speak up.

"Tatsumi, I already know your answer but it's a matter of formalities. So will you join our cause and therefore Night Raid?" Najenda questioned. He turned his face to Akame and blinked at her with his right eye, giving her a small smile. Then he turned back to Najenda. "You surely know what that means, Tatsumi?" Bulat reminded him seriously. "I know. After all we are all murderers and there is no justice to be found in it It´s okay, Bulat…I'm fully aware of the burden I will carry on my shoulders." Tatsumi confirmed without any sign of emotion, repeating the cold and hard reality of their and lives like an omnipresent and haunting creed. "We just wanna make sure, that you know what you're getting yourself into." Leone added concerned.

"It's ok…I know." He assured her with a small smirk. "Oh, man I already like him. He's so badass and mature." She said loudly, making everybody laugh. "Oh, Leone…you're flattering me." Tatsumi returned with an alluring yet humorous charm in his voice, which caused everyone to laugh even more.

Everyone was ready to leave, until they saw Tatsumi kneel down to the boss. Noone actually ever did that. He was the first one to do this. Bound by this gesture the assassins kept staring at the young man. Even Mine. "I'm ready to go through hell to take the prime minister's head. I will send the emperor to hell. I will dedicate my life to Night Raid and fight until death. I won't fail and if I do, you may kill me." Tatsumi uttered with his eyes covered up by a black shadow.

The base remained silent for a while. Everyone was overwhelmed by the unbreakable determination and indomitable willpower that exuded from Tatsumi and his pledge to Night Raid. "Rise, Tatsumi!" The boss commanded. "Prepare for a life unlike any other. Welcome to the path of carnage. I gladly welcome you to Night Raid." The leader announced. The teen silently nodded in agreement.

"Tatsumi, today you're going to train with Akame today." Najenda added, receiving a nod from her "I hope I'll be able to learn as much as possible from someone as strong as you." The newly appointed assassin expressed with determination. "I am sure you will make a formidable student." She returned. "First, we are going to cook." Akame said. "Whatever you say, Akame." He responded a bit wondered, though not questioning her methods. "I'll meet you in the kitchen then." Tatsumi said, entering the kitchen. Later in the kitchen…

"I don't know why they let you in the kitchen. You keep sampling the ingredients." Tatsumi stated. "I don't know what you mean." Akame returned, oblivious to the fact that she kept eating. "You're a bad liar Akame." He giggled. "But leave something for the others." He added.

"Where did you learn to cook?" She asked bluntly. "Back in my village, when my friends and I decided to head to the capital, we were certain that skills like these would come in handy later on, so we gathered a wide array of skills to survive in the wild." He responded monotone. "Seconds please." Bulat happily shouted across the room. "I think I'll take another one too."Sheele said rather quiet. "Yeah, me too!" A disgustingly bossy voice ordered. "Ok, but it will take some time." He pointed out, sighing in defeat.

He retreated back to the kitchen and began to cut up another apple. Bulat entered the kitchen with the others. "We're heading to a mission, so you don't have to cook another round." Bulat informed. "We can go out and have fun, while you're stuck in the kitchen, cooking for us. That was tasty." Mine taunted, further degrading him. Tatsumi crushed the whole apple in his hand due to the rage her insults induced into him, but he managed to once more restrain his rage, so she wouldn´t receive a piece of his mind or rather his fists concerning her "kind" statements. "Just come back, ok?" Tatsumi pleaded, showing actual concern.

"Of course I will. I'm a pro." Mine assured herself with unwavering self-confidence. "One day I'll be one just like you." Tatsumi responded, causing Mine to blush. "See you." She said, before she left with the others. "Tatsumi, we are going out in the wild to continue our training." Akame announced. "Hunting, I assume." He concluded. Akame nodded.

"Oh, you're going to have with Akame, ain't ya? But don´t disappoint her or else you'll regret it." Leone teased, shoving him into her breasts again, which were barely covered by her black top, which also left her stomach exposed. On her arms she was wearing beige sleeves, which were covering 3 quarters of her arms. Her trousers had the same color and left parts of her thighs as well as her underwear exposed. She was also wearing a belt and stuffed parts of her trousers into her boots.

She hugged him pretty close, unaware of the danger of suffocation. Tatsumi stretched out his hand, signalizing Akame that he will come to his demise if she didn't intervene. After dragging him out of Leone's tight hug, the poor young man tried to catch his breath. "Next time you do that, either warn me or leave me some breathing space." Tatsumi suggested in exhaustion. "I'll keep it in mind for next time." She said with a playful smirk. Leone then left to the training grounds.

"Am I the only one she does that to?" He sighed. Akame nodded. "Let's go, Tatsumi." She said. You take the lead." He returned. "The place we will be heading towards is a bit distanced from here, but if you are as fast as me, we will reach the location within 20 minutes. Let us see if you can keep up with me." Akame decided. "Great idea, but I don't think I'll be able to keep up for long."

He agreed. "I think you will do just fine." She tried to encourage him. As they got outside, Akame commenced the count. "3…2…1…Go!" The race was on. She immediately ran off with inhuman speed. He was impressed by how extremely fast Akame was even though only one or two feet separated them. He tried to overtake several times, but when he attempted to do so, Akame would simply run off and easily escape out of his range. This went on for a while, until the exercise eventually took its toll on him.

After what seemed like 3 quarters of the distance, he felt excruciating pain in his feet and his lungs didn´t feel the same need as him to further participate in the competition, so he just focused on staying behind Akame. He didn't want to give up. He was not that kind of person. So he used all of his remaining energy for the remaining distance in order to keep up with her and he managed to do it to some extent.

"We are there, Tatsumi." Akame informed him satisfied without a single trace of exhaustion. "How was I?" Tatsumi asked, gasping for air "Better than I expected. Even though I didn't use all of my speed, you managed to keep up. But you look completely depleted. You are already fast, but with consistent training you will become faster and more durable." Akame analized. "I'll work on it. What are we going to do next?" He asked excited.

Akame undressed herself, so only a white bikini would remain. Tatsumi couldn't help but to blush a little bit. "Are we going to take a bath together?" Tatsumi asked sarcastically, yet charmfully. "No, we are going to catch dinner." She declared. "You have to swim down to the bottom and conceal your aura. Then focus it in a single strike." Akame instructed.

"Wait a second. I have to undress myself quickly." He said, while he removed his clothes, revealing his boxers. They dove into the water and began to manually catch fish. "How many should I catch at least?" Tatsumi asked. "3" she responded shortly. "Could you show it to me please?" The student asked.

"Of course" The master agreed, diving back into the water. He observed her intently to gather as much knowledge as possible from her display of power and skill. She swam towards the fish and sent the animal flying through the water into their baskets they brought along with a single precise and powerful strike. Then she returned to her student. "Do you have a general idea now?" Akame asked.

"Yes, I think." He nodded, diving back in with her. Eventually she ran out of breath and swam towards the surface. She was surprised to not see Tatsumi up there with her. As she reentered the water she saw how Tatsumi continued to push himself. "He is determined." Akame thought. It appeared to her that he practiced a variation of Karate. Eventually he swam up to catch some air.

"This is fun. How many did you catch?" He asked happily. "15. You?" Akame answered. "12. Goddamnit! You won again." He complained sarcastically with laughter. "This is plenty. Let us head back." She said. After they have arrived at the training grounds, Akame tossed him a training sword. "We are going to fight now. After that I should have a pretty good impression about your abilities." She announced, taking an offensive fighting stance.

"Let's go." Tatsumi said excited, readying himself for her assault. Akame lunched forward and delivered a quick series of quick sword slashes. Tatsumi was impressed by the deadly precision and velocity of Akame's sword swings. He was barely able to block them. After another series of attacks, Tatsumi managed to push Akame back slightly, so he could start an offensive of his own. He smashed his sword against hers with all the power he could conjure. He managed to strafe her right thigh, but aside from that she blocked every strike of his with relative ease.

After his onslaught, Akame retook the initiative and threw Tatsumi off his stance, sending him on his back. She pointed her wooden katana at his left cheek. "I won." She stated with an expressionless face. "I'm too weak. You're leagues above me." He lamented disappointed about himself. "You are too hard to yourself. There is a gap between us, but with consistent training we will be able to change that." Akame said, trying to encouraging him. "I promise you, that I'll become stronger." The assassin promised with determination burning

in his emerald-green eyes. "I am sure of it." Akame assured him. "Guys, we got a contract, please come in." Leone shouted across the training grounds. "Ok, we'll be there in a few seconds." Tatsumi returned loudly. "See ya" She yelled back, leaving her colleagues by themselves again. Tatsumi felt, that he could learn a lot from Akame. Somehow he felt relaxed when she was around. He couldn´t explain it to himself, but he enjoyed her company. It felt like, even if it was just for a short moment, he could forget about the burden he carried on his shoulders and that weighed him down with every step he took.

"When will we train together again, Akame?" Tatsumi asked hopefully. "Tomorrow 6 am. We have to make breakfast as well. Is this okay?" She offered. "It's perfect. I don't need much sleep anyway and I'm always awake around 5 am." Tatsumi hummed happily. "Good. Let us go inside." Akame said monotone. In the conference room…

"So what's the matter, boss?" Leone questioned curiously. "According to the information you've gathered, we have a captain in the imperial army, who slaughters people at random." Najenda reviewed. "Yeah, my senses never failed me. I met my client recently and she handed over a huge amount of money to me. She said that her husband was killed by the notorious "Captain Ogre" just out of pure self-entertainment as with many others. Her body smelled sick. She's probably been selling her body." Leone added thoughtfully.

"Also he has connections to the underground oil merchant Jamal, who is not minor guilty. Your job: Find and eliminate these worms." Najenda ordered with a sharp look in her left eye. "Pukes like these are the targets I live for." Leone shouted in excitement. "We can't send Akame to kill Ogre. They already know what she looks like. He is never seen alone and he's heavily guarded. He's often patrolling in the city and on his times off he goes drinking in a bar bear the palace." Najenda finished.

Tatsumi recalled seeing Akame the first time on several wanted posters, when he first entered the capital. "I'll go after him. They don't know me yet." Tatsumi proposed. "Someone's fired up, huh?" Leone asked amused. He murders innocent people when he feels like it. Of course I want to kill him as soon as possible." Tatsumi stated. "You feel up to the challenge?" Najenda questioned. "We don't know when the others will return and this might be our only chance to get rid of him. I'll kill that son of a bitch without a scratch." Tatsumi replied confidently.

"If you start with arrogance and over-confidence, you will die." Akame warned him with a cold, monotone voice. "Thanks, I'll take that advice to heart. I won't fail you. Not like I failed them." He returned calmly. "Besides…no one will care, when I die." Tatsumi stated coldly. "So be it. Akame and Leone will go after the oil merchant. Tatsumi, you'll go kill Ogre." Najenda declared. "I'll get you near Ogre's location. Then I'll go with Akame. Awww…it's your first mission. I'm so excited." Leone cheered, shoving Tatsumi into her breasts again. "Thanks, I appreciate it." He said on the brink of suffocating again. Later in the capital…

"There we are." Leone informed him. "Thank you, big sis." Tatsumi replied emotionlessly, ready to part ways. "Tatsumi…if you plan on passing more time with Akame, you should know a few things about her. "Leone advised thoughtfully. "Oh…really?" He responded surprised.

"Akame and her sister were sold to the empire to become cold, emotionless assassins, when they were children." Leone revealed. "That's…horrible." Tatsumi uttered saddened. "Just for you to know. I'll meet up with Akame now. Try to come back in one piece." She laughed casually as if his assignment was as trivial as cleaning a room. "Don't worry. I'll come back." He pressed out of his mouth, hiding his rage. With this Leone departed. As soon as he started to approach Ogre he was caught in deep thought.

"How many more lives do they intend to take? How many families do they plan on destroying? How many children did they break?" His thoughts were raging. He didn't know any rational number, but he knew the answer. "I need to put an end to this nightmare. At all cost." He confessed to himself, yet one single question didn't cease to plague him.

"What horrible things have you lived through, Akame?" The assassin asked himself saddened. He spotted his target in the crowd, snapping out of his deep thought. Tatsumi quickly pulled over his hood of his white coat, so he could navigate the night undetected. "Captain Ogre?" Tatsumi approached him, supposedly innocent as a white sheep. "What is it, kid?" Ogre spat back visibly annoyed. "I have a matter of utmost importance to discuss with you." The boy pretended submissively, while he hid his face under his hood.

"Ok, what is it then?" Ogre demanded. "We need to talk in private. Follow me please." He told his unknowing target, further luring him into his trap. They went into a dark, secluded alley, where they could "speak" in private. "Please let me join the imperial army." Tatsumi whined on his knees. "Oh…I should have known it was something like that. Follow the procedure like everyone else, you moron." The captain sighed, shrugging him off. "But they didn't take my application…" Tatsumi seemingly complained, while he unsheathed his sword from his back in hope that Ogre wouldn't notice.

"Well, that's too bad." Ogre pitied him, turning his back to Tatsumi. The assassin quickly pressed forward in form of a surprise attack and even though Ogre saw the attack coming, he couldn't keep up with him and thus got severely injured, dropping on the floor in the process. "Without a scratch. That was almost too easy…" Tatsumi thought, while observing Ogre, who lied on the ground motionless. He turned his back to Ogre and left the area, but before Tatsumi could go anywhere, his seemingly eliminated target stood behind him, trying to slice him apart. Tatsumi quickly evaded his attack and locked swords with Ogre.

"They don't call me a demon for nothing!" Ogre boasted. "Just answer me one question, before I send you to hell." The assassin asked as their eyes met. "Do you regret torturing and killing all these people?" Tatsumi demanded enraged. "Yes, I regret it…" Ogre responded, while a devious smirk formed on his face. "I regret that…I couldn't enjoy it even more." Ogre uttered with a sadistic grin.

"That's enough!" Tatsumi yelled, as his eyes began to glow bloodshot-yellow. He quickly broke the blade lock, reverted his sword and rammed it into Ogre's chest, causing him to drop to his knees. He took the sword out of Ogre's chest and paused to enjoy Ogre's expression of utter shock and his gaze full with fear.

"Messatsu…" Tatsumi mumbled in his demonic voice. Giving in to his rage and hatred, he beheaded the target. Blood splattered all across his clothes, staining the innocent color of his coat with murder. "I should get back to base, before I draw to much attention." The assassin thought calm and collected. Meanwhile…

Akame and Leone "took care" of the oil merchant. "He got lucky he got killed by us two cuties." Leone joked, looking towards Akame, who stabbed Jamal with her katana, killing him instantly. "I wonder how Tatsumi is doing." Leone questioned.

That question plagued Akame throughout the whole mission. After all it was his first mission and many assassins struggled with their first mission, which often resulted in death. Tatsumi was strong from what she has seen, but was it enough? "He will return." Akame forced herself to think, while they headed back to base. "Oh, look we're already at the base." Leone registered. "Maybe he has returned…" Akame thought.

Unfortunately he hasn't, but 5 minutes later a familiar voice echoed through the base. "Hi, I'm back." Tatsumi yelled, once he entered the base, giving a clear sign of his return. He went to the conference room in order to report to the boss about the successful assassination. As he arrived, he gave Akame his signature grin.

"See, Akame? I completed the contract without a scratch. Thanks to you, Akame." Tatsumi said, giving her a warm smile, although his clothes clearly told otherwise. After he barely finished his sentence Akame stripped him off his blood tainted T-Shirt and watched him closely. "Leone! Boss! Grab his trousers!" Akame ordered and within seconds Tatsumi stood in the middle of the room with only his boxers covering him. His face immediately turned red given the sheer embarrassment that he felt, but he stood calm, letting Akame inspect his body.

"Thank goodness. You didn't get hurt." Akame said reliefed. "She would actually care, if I die?!" Tatsumi thought heavily surprised. "I have seen so many people dying from infection, because they were too proud to report their wounds." Akame added. "I appreciate, that you care so much about my well-being, but don't worry so much please. I'll keep coming back to you. I won't fail you." Tatsumi assured Akame, stretching out his hand to her. Akame's face became red, as she shook his hand with hers.

"Oh man…that's so sweet due to the fact that Tatsumi is half naked." Leone commented happily with every intention of teasing them. "Tatsumi, tomorrow you're going to be training under Mine." Najenda added to the conversation. "Why did it have to be her?" He sighed annoyed in his mind. "Hahaha…do you think that's such a good idea, boss?" Leone managed to ask, barely able to contain her laughter.

"Do you question my ability as a leader?" Najenda asked seriously. "No, not in the slightest." Leone replied, falling to the floor due to her laughter. "Mine's gonna destroy ya tomorrow." Leone predicted. "I hope she won't be too disgusting." He sighed. "You could pray for me." He proposed to her rather ironically. "Sure thing." Leone giggled.

"So…can I dress myself again or do you want me to stay like that for a little longer." TAtsumi joked with his sarcastic charm. "I'd be for the latter." Leone answered. "Aw man, you guys are killing me." Leone mumbled, slowly running out of breath due to her uncontrolled laughter. "I think you can dress yourself again, Tatsumi." Akame stuttered with red cheeks. "Glad to hear that." Tatsumi smiled, dressing himself again, before he silently vanished outside.

"Why is he going outside?" Akame asked herself. She decided to go to bed, since it was already late. As she entered, she looked out the window gazed upon the full, white moon, which illuminated the warm summer night. She was surprised to see Tatsumi practicing his swordsmanship. His swings were strong, yet so fluid and graceful, it was hypnotizing.

After that he did push-ups and sit-ups. She didn't notice that 2 hours have already passed and that the other Night Raid members have arrived from their mission. Tatsumi went inside. With this Akame laid herself on her bed to get some needed rest, since she was going to train with her new student early in the morning. It didn't take her long to fall asleep. After a while, she heard a noise next to her room. She tried to identify it. It was Tatsumi's voice. "Is he having nightmares again?" Akame asked herself slightly worried, yet too tired to think about it, so she fell asleep again…

He found himself in a painfully familiar, cold and snowy location. It was a freezing night. He spotted a woman-like figure in the distance. He closed in on her and soon registered, that it was Sayo. "Sayo, sweetheart. It's cold outside." He caringly whispered into the crook of her neck, embracing her from behind. She remained silent. He slipped off his white coat and caringly wrapped it around Sayo. "Aren't you cold?" She asked concerned.

"No, it's ok." He denied. Her warmth was all he needed. "I missed you, love." He whispered, gently kissing her neck. "You need to let me go." She told him silently. "I will join you." He stated with a longing for her touch, but there was nothing. Only emptiness and regret could be found. "You can't" She returned sadly. Suddenly cracks formed across Sayo's face and she began to slowly fade.

"I can't. What is my life worth without you?" He questioned desperate, tightening his grip around her. The snowfall around them grew heavier and huge amounts of fire surrounded them. The dream began to slowly fall apart as Sayo did. "You have to move on. A final time." Sayo answered, leaning against him and feeling his tender, yet sad touch.

"I can't. I've never moved on. I'm not able to. I never will." He returned close to tears. "You have to. After all, you have killed me." Sayo said silently. "No, that was Tatsumi, that monster." He replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck, as the sensation of guilt overcame him. "Farewell Tatsumi, my love…" Sayo whispered, while she crumbled to ash and faded away.

From the ashes arose a demonic monster. The hooded figure was wearing a black-red assassin robe and held two swords in his hands. The hooded figure glared death at Tatsumi with all the hatred that was burning in its yellow-bloodshot eyes.

Countless screams of death silently echoed around the faceless monster. The hooded figure mercilessly charged forward and cut Tatsumi in half, severing his limbs. Tatsumi lied in the icy snow with his legs and arms severed. He glared at the figure ahead of him. Motionless like death.

"I hate you…" Tatsumi screamed at the dark "person" with more rage and hatred in his eyes than humanly possible. "…More than anything." The dark figure finished with a demonic voice, while pulling its hood down to reveal its face. It was Tatsumi himself. Tatsumi pulled over his hood again. He reverted his swords and rammed them into his targets back, ending his suffering momentarily and causing him to awake from the disturbing scenery.

Tatsumi was panting heavily, as he awoke in the cruel reality. It was just a dream. But the pain felt so real. It always did. Tatsumi was accustomed to this torture. He wouldn't be fooled by this. He, Tatsumi caused Sayo's death.

He was the monster responsible for her death. He had to live with the guilt, which destroyed him from inside with every breath he took. But Sayo was right. He had to move on or else he would be lost in the misery of his past and his unrestrained hatred for himself. He had to move on. He was an assassin now after all. Hopefully his new friends would give him the strength to do so. I'm sorry, Sayo…I have failed you." Tatsumi whispered, drifting off to sleep again…

15


	3. Chapter 3

_3_

_Kill the relative_

The rising sun woke her with its soft rays of light. She let out a yawn and stood up. After Akame has prepared herself, she glanced at the clock. 'Time for training.' She thought, heading towards Tatsumi's room. 'Good morning. Come in.' Tatsumi greeted friendly. 'Good morning.' She quietly returned, entering his room. 'Did you sleep well?' He asked with a warm smile, covering up his stress and exhaustion from last night. 'Yes. You?' Akame responded.

'You heard me again last night?' He asked in return, while his smile faded into a numb expression, already knowing the answer. 'Yes, I sleep in the room next to yours.' She informed him, giving him her usual blank stare. 'I'm sorry, I didn't want to ruin your sleep.' Tatsumi apologized. 'It's ok, you didn't ruin my sleep.' She assured him. 'Let's go training.' Akame suggested. 'Ok.' He whispered. Later at the training grounds…

Tatsumi was doing push-ups with Akame on his back. 'Enjoying yourself up there?' He asked jokingly. Akame nodded. He would do fitness and also work on his running speed. Then they engaged in a training duel. She remembered his graceful sword swings from last night, as they clashed. He managed to hold his own against her, but eventually she overpowered him.

'Another round please.' He demanded excitedly. 'Fine.' Akame agreed, taking her fighting stance. Suddenly Lubbock stormed outside of the base. 'We have intruders.' Lubbock shouted at them. 'We have to kill them or else they will sell our location to the empire.' Akame stated monotone. 'Then let's go.' Tatsumi said. They departed to meet up with other Night Raid members in order to eradicate the intruders…

'You are in enemy territory.' Akame reminded her targets, staring at them without emotion. 'She's cute. Let's have some fun with her.' One of them said with an evil, perverted smirk. She quickly charged forward and cut through them with inhuman speed. 'Homeru-(Eliminate).' Akame mumbled in a monotone, yet murderous voice, while she sheathed her katana 'Murasame'.

Tatsumi found himself chasing after a group of intruders with Bulat by his side. 'Do you think you can kill them?' The tall man asked casually. 'Of course, Bulat.' Tatsumi nodded. 'Please call me either 'handsome' or 'bro'.' The ex-soldier said. 'You got it, bro!' He shouted excitedly. 'Let me show you something cool.' Bulat offered. The newest addition to Night Raid wondered what it might have been.

'Incursio!' Bulat screamed and within an instant he was encased in a huge, white-grey armor, while he materialized a spear in his right hand. 'Whoa. That's awesome, bro!' Tatsumi exclaimed astounded like a little boy. 'That's Incursio, my imperial arm.' Bulat introduced his companion. 'If you don't mind, I would go kill them.' Tatsumi adviced. 'Oh yeah sure. Let's go.' He agreed.

After dealing with his part of the group, he joined up with Bulat, who was surrounded by the rest of them. Tatsumi was about to help him out, until the warrior in armor sliced through the opposition within a matter of seconds. 'Wow…he killed them all…and he did it within a matter of seconds.' The new assassin thought in astonishment as he marveled his comrades fighting abilities. It was a pleasure watching him fight.

Meanwhile the others dealt with the rest of the intruders. After successfully defending, everyone returned to their personal business, which was mainly sleeping. 'Do you think we can train a little bit longer?' Tatsumi asked. 'It's enough for today. We have to make breakfast.' Akame decided. 'Today I'll be training under Mine…' He sighed. 'I already miss you.' He laughed. 'You will get through.' She tried to encourage him, yet with her usual blank and emotionless stare. 'I hope so. Let's make breakfast.' He giggled. Later…

'Sheele and Mine are still in bed.' Tatsumi pointed out, hinting towards the two unconsumed meals. Akame took no chances and devoured both meals within mere seconds. 'Wow, I just witnessed the true speed of an assassin.' The young male mumbled. While Akame cleaned her mouth with a handkerchief, Sheele joined them. 'What happened to my breakfast?' She asked confused and still sleepy.

'Ey Sheele, is Mine already up?' The assassin in training wanted to know. 'I don't know. I could wake her, if you want.' Sheele responded, while she went through her long, purple hair. 'It's okay, I can do that.' Tatsumi sighed, heading upstairs towards Mine's bedroom. He knocked on the door. 'Mine, are you awake?' He asked. 'Yes.' She answered. 'May I come in, so I don't have to scream?' He asked politely. 'I'm dressing myself right now.' She refused.

'Oh ok…well…Akame already 'took care' of Sheele's and your breakfast, but I could make you something, if you want. I will be training under you today by the way.' Tatsumi updated her. 'Ok, we'll go to the capital later. I'll be ready in…say 10 minutes.' Mine responded. 'I'll meet you in the living room.' He sighed, going back into the kitchen to cook some rice for them. Mine was surprisingly excited about training the newcomer. Ever since he complimented her in front of the others, making her look like an idiot, her thoughts often wandered off to the young man.

She expected him to freak out and make an idiot out of himself, but instead he was nice and polite, even caring towards her. Also he completed his first mission, proving that he's not weak at all and is to be taken serious. This day is sure going to be interesting.' Mine thought. Later in the capital…

Tatsumi and Mine strolled through the streets of the capital. They were crowded with people and stores where everywhere. The houses next to the stone-plastered street were either inns or the home of the average families. They didn't look particularly fancy, yet they had an old touch. 'These people look so helpless and depressed.' Tatsumi noticed. 'The economy sucks. Either people are on the bottom or on their way down.' Mine explained.

Suddenly many people assembled around a public place. 'Huh? Why are so many people gathering?' The boy from the country asked. 'Public execution. The prime minister likes to state examples.' Mine explicated, hinting towards the unrecognizable corpses fixed to the crucifixes. 'Son of a bitch…' Tatsumi angrily stammered, clenching his fist. Careful, Tatsumi. As 'normal' citizens we're used to this, so we don't show any extraordinary emotions.' Mine warned.

'So today's lesson is going to be about gathering intelligence without blowing your cover?' He guessed. Mine nodded. 'Sorry, I didn't want to blow our cover.' The student apologized. 'It's ok. However for my part, I will never end up like they did. I will no matter what survive and make something out of my life.' Mine stated confidently. 'I think we should leave. I have the feeling that we're being followed.' Tatsumi whispered. 'Yes, I've seen them too.' She quietly agreed.

'We need to get rid of these soldiers. I propose we go shopping and you pretend to be my girlfriend or something.' The young man suggested, causing her to giggle. 'You're the first boy I came across, who doesn't hate shopping.' The girl chuckled. 'My clothes are still bloody from the last mission, so I'll soon run out of clothes that way.

Also you said that I wouldn't be made of the same professional cloth as you. Translating this literally, I would have to buy a badass assassin robe. Additionally it strengthens our cover, because well…shopping is what boyfriends do with their girlfiriend…occasionally.' Tatsumi elaborated with a smirk on his face. Her cheeks slightly reddened. 'You know what? I like your way of thinking.' Mine stated. He wouldn't mistake her for his girlfriend of course, but as he held her hand, she felt surprisingly comfortable.

'Then let's continue our retail investigation.' Mine stated happily. The shopaholic bought herself several dresses, even hearing out the opinion of her companion. 'You look great, Mine.' Tatsumi complimented with a gentle smile. 'Thanks.' She blushed. 'So now we're getting you something professional as you said.' Mine announced amused. 'I took the term from you.' He laughed

'But where can we find something like that?' She asked herself. 'Got one!' Tatsumi shouted proudly. 'Are you fucking kidding me? As if they had something like that!' Mine yelled in disbelief. 'See for yourself.' Tatsumi invited. His assassin robe (assassin's creed 3 New York outfit) was completely black with a white shirt and red accents across the black, hooded coat.

The lower part of the assassin robe consisted of black trousers as well as black boots. Surprisingly the piece of cloth came with all kinds of weapons. For example black, hidden blades attached to the arms, poison darts, smoke grenades and a rope dart to strangulate people.

Also the black coat covered the legs almost entirely from behind, but two third of the lower back piece were divided in half to allow for agility, so it just hung behind his legs without hindering. 'Please don't kill me! Have you seen an 18 year old boy with brown, spiky hair and green eyes?' Mine joked. 'How does it look?' Tatsumi asked, itching for an answer.

'It looks badass. I like the red accents and the black color overall. It suits you.' The fashion guru answered thoughtfully. 'Thanks.' He smiled. 'Everything complements each other, but I'm surprised it came with all these weapons. This could only mean…oh now I know. You landed at the black market. It's known for selling obscure stuff like this. That explains it.' Mine deduced. 'As long as I can pay it…' Tatsumi shrugged. 'So…how much is this going to cost me, sir?' He asked. Outside…

'With that out of the way, I could eat something.' She reviewed, as her pseudo-boyfriend pulled in a hug. 'Don't worry. Only making sure that they will buy that we're a couple.' The black-clad assassin whispered into her ear. 'Good idea.' Mine returned. She totally forgot about the soldiers, who patrolled through the city, potentially exposing their identity.

But if she was honest with herself, she wanted that moment to last a little bit longer. Mine was glad, that he couldn't see the blush on her face or otherwise she would have embarrassed herself. 'His hug felt surprisingly comfortable…' She mentally noted. 'Good, I think they gave up on us.' He whispered.

'Hey, Tatsumi…' She started. 'What is it?' The boy asked, releasing her of his hug. 'You're surely going to carry my bags, right?' Mine asked surprisingly polite. 'Sure.' Tatsumi giggled, taking the two bags on his left arm. 'I'm hungry. Let's grab something to eat.' She proposed. 'I'm not hungry, but I could use a drink.' He agreed. Later at an ice café…

Tatsumi and Mine took a seat, where they could talk undisturbed. 'What are you eating?' He asked, as he took a zip from his milk shake. 'Strawberry parfait. Want a spoon?' She offered. 'Sure' Tatsumi nodded, taking a spoon. 'Mmh…tasty. Maybe a bit too sweet for my taste.' He reviewed. 'What are you drinking?' Mine asked.

'Cherry something. Want a zip?' Tatsumi returned. 'Sure, why not?' She agreed. 'Cherry-coconut. You have a good taste. 'Mine accounted. 'Thanks.' He laughed. 'Akame would be proud of you.' Mine joked. 'Why is that?' Tatsumi questioned confused. 'Take a look at yourself. You're basically her twin brother.' Mine explained laughingly. 'Oh, I get it.' He giggled.

Right. Akame. Although he had a good time with Mine, he missed crossing blades with the red-eyed assassin. Despite their duels being mostly one-sided, he had plenty of fun training with her. He also valued every bit of knowledge he could gather from her and it helped to distract him from the deaths of his friends.

'You spoke of retail investigation…' Tatsumi brought up. 'I just wanted to make it sound professional.' Mine laughed, making her companion sweatdrop. 'Currently rumors are spread that a relative of the prime minister abuses his name to do nasty stuff, including prostitution for the most part. Also we know that his location is heavily fortified.' She informed him.

'If that's to be true, then a head-on assault would be pretty difficult.' The male assassin concluded. 'Don't worry. I can snipe him, if necessary.' Mine returned. 'Oh right, you're the sniper in Night Raid.' Tatsumi registered. 'Can you help me with something?' He asked. 'Let me guess…how to use a gun?' The sniper figured. 'I want to train my accuracy.' The student answered.

'It comes down to practice. We can go to a shooting range and then I could show you some tricks.' Mine proposed. 'Thanks. I will need a lot of training with all my weapons in order to become a professional assassin like Akame and the others, so I won't be dragging you down' Tatsumi stated determined. '…in order to never lose someone again.' He thought.

Let's go then.' Mine ordered, standing up from her chair. 'Would you mind paying?' She asked. 'Sure. Goes towards friendship.' Tatsumi agreed with a smile. After leaving the ice café, they spotted a young girl in an alley being molested by two teenage boys.

Both assassins nodded at each other to imply the next step of action. 'Please…leave me alone.' The girl pleaded desperately 'Maybe we could…' One of the boys assumed. 'Leave her alone!' Mine ordered with a commanding voice. 'What if we don't?' The other boy returned defiantly.

'I'll show you.' Mine sneered, snapping her fingers. The hooded assassin pushed forward and cut the trousers of the boys open, leaving them embarrassed in their underwear. Both of the boys ran off afraid, as Tatsumi looked at them with his yellow-bloodshot eyes. 'Thank you.' The girl stuttered still afraid. 'Don't thank us. Grow up strong, so you can protect yourself.' Mine lectured.

'Don't remember us. We are no heroes.' Tatsumi added coldly, while the hood completely covered his face in a black shadow. Both assassins left the girl to fulfill their original objective, which was gathering intelligence. 'Oh, I hear something…' Mine whispered, taking Tatsumi's hand to go to cover within audible range. They heard a conversation between a larger group of people. They were talking about the prime minister's relative enriching himself inside his fort.

They also spoke about a former imperial prison executioner running loose in the capital and his friend, who helped him to break out. 'That's some big news for the boss.' Tatsumi whispered. 'Definitly. Although that Zanku guy is a bigger threat than the prime minister's cousin, we'll have to deal with him later. Tonight we're going after that scumbag.' She resumed.

'We should head back and report this to the boss.' Tatsumi proposed. 'Let's go. Do you want to do some shooting first?' Mine asked. He nodded. As they approached the shooting range, Mine quickly revised everything there was to know about guns. Tatsumi shot at various targets, hitting the chest most of the time.

'Aim higher.' The sniper advised. 'How much?' He asked. She went towards him and laid her arms around his, adjusting his aim. She enjoying the warmth Tatsumi gave off, while she hugged him. 'You need to compensate for the recoil. If you can do that, maintaining your aim, you'll be able to constantly hit headshots.' Mine taught him. The student shot at the training dummy, hitting perfectly between the eyes.

'Awesome!' Tatsumi cheered. 'See? Just do as I say and you'll have excellent accuracy.' She said happily. 'It's basically just practice, but I don't know how to use your other weapons, so you'll have to train with them yourself.' Mine pointed out. 'I generally think this gear is more suited towards stealth assassinations and my sword is rather for close quarter combat.' Tatsumi assessed.

'Gun combat doesn't really fit your fighting style.' She interrupted. 'I never said I would change my fighting style. But…it's still knowledge that might save my life one day. I, as an assassin want to be a master in any sort of combat.' He stated. Again, Mine was overwhelmed by the determination and maturity the newcomer displayed.

She looked at him with a satisfied expression. 'I'm glad I could help you.' Mine said satisfied with herself. 'Thank you. We should go to the boss and prepare ourselves for the mission.' Tatsumi returned. 'Man, you sound way too much like Akame.' Mine noticed laughingly. 'Really?' He silently asked with a confused look in his emerald-green eyes. She nodded. 'Just wait until she sees my new clothes.' He joked, causing Mine to break out in laughter. Inside the base…

'Where are the others, boss?' Tatsumi asked surpised at the base's emptiness. 'They already already headed towards the mission. You should hurry a bit, since you'll be the ones to take out the trash. The others will ensure that you won't be overrun by hostiles if anything fails.' Najenda briefly summarized.

'We'll grab our gear and make sure everything runs smoothly.' Mine clarified, noticing that night was coming soon. Both assassins headed towards their rooms to meet the final preparations for the mission. Suddenly Najenda stopped Tatsumi. 'Oh…and Tatsumi. Your new clothes look pretty cool.' She complimented. 'Thanks, boss.' The black-clad assassin smirked. Later at the checkpoint of the mission…

The still hot air and the low breeze of the night surrounded both assassins, who were lying on a cliff, which provided a line of sight towards the fortress the victim resided in. 'Tatsumi? Where are you?' I can't see you.' Mine whispered into the calm forest. 'I'm here. Do you need my help?' He spoke up, crouching next to her to indicate his position.

'Man, that assassin robe is great. I didn't even see you. Aside from that I need you to call out our target's position. Here's an ocular.' The sniper ordered, handing over a pink ocular. 'Ok, I see him. He's walking outside. Distance is around a mile. Wind blows from east to west. Wind itself is calm, so it won't matter all that much.' Tatsumi relayed.

Mine readied her weapon, ready to blow their target out of existence. 'Is this your weapon?' He asked. 'Yup, it's my imperial arm 'Pumpkin'. It's a rifle fueled by my emotions. The more danger I find myself in, the more charged up is 'Pumpkin'.' Mine explained proudly. 'How's the situation over there?' She asked.

'Wait a second…Now there are a ton of innocent women around the target.' He quickly informed her. The target stopped at the middle of the stairs, which were leading down the hill the fort was built on. 'He stopped at the middle of the stairs. Distance and wind are roughly the same. Actually…don't shoot. Too many casualties, if you shoot.' Tatsumi briefed her, eyeing their target through the scope. Mine aimed her rifle at their victim.

'Go ahead.' He sighed under his head in fear of unnecessary casualties. Mine shot a small, yellow energy beam towards their target's head. Headshot! None other than the target was hit. The pink-haired sniper hit him right between the eyes, dropping him instantly. 'What a shot!' Tatsumi cheered in utter amazement.

'Have I told you that I'm a badass sniper genius?' Mine boasted wearing a huge grin. 'Great work, Mine. Let's go back to the checkpoint to meet up with the others.' He suggested, still amazed by the display of Mine's abilities. 'Let's go, Akame.' She teased him. 'As if I was Akame 2.0.' Tatsumi sighed, rolling his eyes.

Meanwhile the other members of 'Night Raid' battled against the remaining guards of the dead target. After Leone finished the last one, everyone came to a stop. 'That was fun beating the crap out of these dumbsters.' Leone exclaimed excitedly. 'I wonder how Tatsumi and Mine are doing.' Akame questioned.

'As I know Mine, she probably blasted that pervert out of existence and if she didn't, Tatsumi would have stormed the fort like a madman and slaughtered him mercilessly.' Lubbock assumed. 'If you think so…' Akame sighed. 'Wait…I didn't kill anyone.' The green-haired assassin registered.

'Maybe because you suck?' Leone teased him. 'No that's not what I meant. 1…2…3…4.' He mumbled, counting the corpses. 'Shit! One's missing. They might be in danger.' Lubbock figured. 'I don't think they'll need our help.' Bulat assumed. 'Let's meet up with them and be on the safe side.' Leone suggested. Back to Tatsumi and Mine…

'We aren't far from the checkpoint. Do you think the others are okay?' Tatsumi asked slightly worried. 'They fight against guards from the imperial fist temple. They'll take a while, but they should be fine.' Mine responded. Then silence followed. Only the calm and warm breeze was talking in the darkness. All of a sudden she broke the silence.

'You know…I feel like being nice to you, since you did a decent job today, so I'll tell you a bit about myself.' Mine hissed in her bossy voice to start a conversation. 'My blood is half western tribes. One day, when I was a child, I was lying on the road, because I wasn't able to move due to exhaustion. I laid there and vowed for someone to help me, but no one did because I was a foreigner. My entire childhood consisted of nothing but intolerance. I never want someone to experience such intolerance as I did, so I'll make sure that there'll be no intolerance towards other tribes after the emperor's fall.' Mine reminisced about her past.

'I'm sorry, Mine…I wish people were different.' The hooded assassin tried to comfort her, while the hood hid his emotions. 'But I guess that's what we're here for. To bring justice to the people, tolerance being a part of it. I'd appreciate it, if you help me.' She offered with a smirk with the intention of cheering him up.

'You mean to get you up there or to rid the world of intolerance.' Tatsumi asked, trying to hide his actual state of mind. 'With both.' She giggled, not suspecting anything. He formed a ladder with his hands, so the smaller girl could stand on them and climb over the elevation. Tatsumi then quickly caught up to her.

'Of course I'll help you. We're comrades. We're friends.' He replied, calming down his mind. Even though he didn't know them for a long time, he viewed them all as his friends. Who else did he have? That's right…Nobody. That's why he felt so concerned as he heard about Akame's and Mine's past.

He experienced the true colors of the empire. More than anyone could imagine. That's why he perfectly understood how they must have felt. Like a black hole these memories start to devour the heart of a person, causing eternal suffering in extreme cases like his. At least it would scar someone for the rest of his or her life.

'What were you doing before you met us?' Mine asked interested. 'Nothing worth mentioning…' Tatsumi lied. 'Like what? There seems to be a story…' She persisted. 'You would just call me an unprofessional loser. It's just a boring story…' He lied coldly, while the hood covered his face in darkness.

'We're at checkpoint.' Tatsumi registered. 'Well, what do we have here?' An unknown voice shouted. 'Looks like I've found the intruders.' The unknown voice continued, revealing a tall man in a fighting stance. 'The vice leader of the imperial fist temple and now you're licking his boot. Oh my, how the mighty have fallen.' Mine mocked the stranger, starting to shoot at him with rapid fire.

He tried to run off, but Tatsumi caught him in a hugging grip. 'Shoot, Mine!' Tatsumi ordered, while withstanding the pain from the punches on his back. 'I won't shoot at you!' She talked back. 'You trust me, right?' He asked loudly. 'I do.' The sniper replied confused. 'And I trust you. So make that shot count.' Tatsumi convinced her calmly even though he was punched on his back.

'Boom' He could feel the force of the punches disappear as he saw the corpse of his enemy drop in front of him with a hole in his upper chest. 'See? Wasn't too hard, was it?' Tatsumi cheered. 'That's because I'm a genius.' Mine praised herself. 'You definitely are.' He agreed reliefed.

'I'm glad I could learn from a genius like you. Thank you for the great time today.' He thanked her. Mine's face immediately reddened. 'I'm glad you obliterated him. Otherwise I would have had to destroy him himself.' He added.

'Your willpower and determination are very strong. I must apologize to you. I was very rough to you at the start and judged you too quickly. I'm sorry for calling you a loser. I'm sure you'll be as professional as we are in time. I had a great time as well today.' Mine apologized. 'Honestly, I already forgot about it, but I'll take the apology. Thanks.' Tatsumi sweatdropped.

'I don't blame people for telling the truth…' He thought. 'There they are.' A well-known voice shouted. 'There was actually no reason to rush as I said.' Lubbock breathed out. After the group reunited, they headed straight to base. Mine walked beside Sheele and Tatsumi joined up with Akame and Leone.

'What do you think about Tatsumi now that you've trained with him.' Sheele asked. Mine cleared her throat. 'I think I have to reevaluate my stance towards our newest addition to Night Raid.' She pouted. 'Did ya enjoy yourself with Mine today?' Leone asked sarcastically.

'Yes it was fun and I learned some new stuff.' Tatsumi replied seriously. 'What do you think of her?' She laughed. 'She went from completely insufferable to an enjoyable person to pass time with.' He answered. 'I must say I like your new look.' Leone stated, shoving the hooded assassin into her big breasts again.

'I-I'm glad…you like it, Onee-chan.' Tatsumi managed to express, forcing himself out of her 'hug'. In order to prevent another 'hug', he subtly created more distance between by leaning more towards Akame. As the group arrived at the base, everyone headed towards their bed to get the well deserved rest, except for Akame and Tatsumi.

The moon illuminated the warm night. 'How has your day been?' Tatsumi asked with a gentle smile. 'As always.' She replied. For a few moments silence took over. 'Will you continue training?' Akame asked silently. 'Yes, You want to accompany me?' He asked gently. 'No, I will go to bed.' She yawned.

'Looks like someone needs a nap.' Tatsumi giggled 'Tatsumi, your new clothes…' She started. 'You like them?' He asked, revealing his soft grin by pulling back his hood. 'I like them.' Akame replied. 'I like them too. It feels like they were tailored to me. Like they were embracing me.' Tatsumi reviewed.

'By the way tomorrow training as usual?' He asked. She nodded. 'I should go to bed now. I'm sorry that I held you up with your training.' Akame apologized. 'You don't hold me up. I enjoy your company.' Tatsumi softly spoke. 'Thanks.' She blushed. 'Have fun training, but don't overdo it.' Akame advised.

'I won't. I wish you a good night.' He quietly told her. 'Thanks.' She returned, leaving him to train. Tatsumi stared at her, until she disappeared inside the base, then he stared back at the moon as a weird sensation overcame him. Even though the night was warm, he felt it growing significantly older after Akame left.

'Let's go to work then.' He sighed in his mind. He skinned his assassin robe and started with sit-ups and push-ups. After that he practiced his swordsmanship alongside his new gear. After three hours of training, he went inside the base, took a bath and finally got to bed. He knew he would have three up to 4 hours of sleep, but it was enough for his body to recover.

As for his mind, it would be another hour long torture session once darkness took over. He was lying in bed, wearing his assassin robe. He didn't bother to skin it. It made him feel safer and comfortable. His eyelids became increasingly heavier, until he fell asleep.

Tatsumi found himself in the nightmare he lived through yesterday. This time, he was the one looking down on Tatsumi, whose limbs were severed. 'I hate you…' He screamed at him. '…more than anything.' Tatsumi fulfilled the sentence, pulling back his hood to reveal his face.

Tatsumi was wearing the same assassin robe he wore today and in nightmare from yesterday. Tatsumi walked towards his counterpart and rammed his swords into his back, ending his existence. With this the nightmare ended, causing him to awake. He was panting heavily, but fell asleep again soon, letting darkness take over…

12


	4. Chapter 4

_4_

_Kill the executioner_

Tatsumi awoke from his torturous sleep, glancing at the clock. '5:30 am.' It said. Tatsumi stood up and stretched himself, no longer feeling the exhaustion from earlier. He stood up, quickly readying himself for the new day. He started with some morning exercise, until he heard a silent knock on his door, realizing it had to be Akame.

'Morning.' He greeted with a light smirk. 'Good morning.' Akame greeted silently. 'How long did you train last night?' Akame inquired. 'Three hours. I practiced with my new weapons.' Tatsumi answered. 'Don't you feel exhausted?' She questioned. 'No, I'm good.' The male denied with a light grin. 'Let's go then.' Akame proposed.

'I have some interesting news by the way.' Tatsumi said. Akame stopped and turned to him. 'According to what Mine and I found out, there's a guy, who is currently running loose in the capital, beheading people at random during night. His name is 'Headhunter Zanku'. He will probably be our target today.' Tatsumi concluded. Akame nodded, maintaining her usual, blank stare. At the training grounds…

Akame and Tatsumi engaged in another one of their training duels. Tatsumi aggressively charged forward towards her, throwing several quick sword slashes against her, but Akame quickly retaliated. As he slashed downwards, Akame blocked, downing him in the process. 'Man, will there ever be a time in my life, in which I win something against you?' Tatsumi laughed.

Do you want another round?' Akame asked with a small smile, while she stretched out her hand to Tatsumi, helping him to stand up. 'Hell yeah!' Tatsumi responded excitedly, readying himself for another round. 'I'll come at you, as if this was a real fight.' He warned. He charged forward, but suddenly spotted s big fist in his way,

Realizing that he must act, he quickly put his sword in between his teeth and grabbed the arm of the person, throwing him on the ground with a shoulder throw. After this obstacle was overcome, he continued his assault on Akame, locking blades with her. 'Good reaction time, Tatsumi.' A manly voice complimented, which could have only belonged to Bulat.

'Didn't expect you to react that fast though. 'Bulat continued, wiping away the dust from his clothes. 'Thanks, bro.' He returned, as he defended himself against Akame. 'Today, you're gonna be training with me.' The Incursio-wielder announced somewhat excited. 'Cool.' Tatsumi replied happily, ending the training duel with Akame.

'I am going to make lunch in a few minutes. Shall I cook for you too?' She asked. 'I don't know, but I can help you.' Tatsumi returned. 'Not necessary. We'll be back around dinner. By the way the boss calls a meeting.' Bulat informed his comrades. 'It's probably about our next target.' The assassin in training added.

On the way to the meeting Tatsumi showed Akame his new weapons, including his hidden blades. 'That's amazing.' She said in utter amazement. 'Tatsumi, Mine. Please update us on what you've found out about our target.' Najenda ordered. He united with Mine and gave her a nod. 'Morning everyone. First of all does everyone roughly who 'Headhunter Zanku' is?' Mine started. 'I actually don't.' Night Raid's airhead admitted.

'Fine. He was once an executioner in the biggest imperial prison. Since the prime minister orders a lot of decapitations, it drove him insane over time. He became a safety risk for the empire, so he got arrested, but could break out with the help of a friend. He's also rumored to have an imperial arm.' Mine explained.

'At the moment he's on a nasty kill streak, decapitating everyone, who enters his line of sight. He'll likely show up tonight to search for new victims, so we better kill him tonight. We can't allow a psychopath like him to terrorize the innocent people in the capital. That's it from us so far.' Tatsumi finished, returning to his seat next to Akame. 'I couldn't have said it any better.' The boss continued.

'This basically confirms the intel we got from the revolutionary army. Since we don't know his exact location, we'll form teams of two. Akame and Tatsumi will form team 1. Bulat and Lubbock, as well as Leone and Sheele will form teams 2 and 3. You will search in the capital for Zanku and eliminate him. Mine, you'll provide overview with your sniping capabilities. I'm well aware of Zanku's accomplice, but right now Zanku has absolute priority. Until then prepare yourselves for the mission. We'll strike at night. This meeting is officially closed.' Night Raid's leader commanded.

Tatsumi and Bulat headed towards the mountains to start their training. 'We need to keep track of our surroundings. It's crawling with danger beasts. Some can even cover themselves.' Bulat informed. 'So what are we going to do?' Tatsumi wanted to know.

'We're gonna go up the mountain and clear it of danger beasts. Fighting in such harsh environment will strengthen your body. These would be the basics, but since you already know how to fight, I'm just going over it quickly. Later we'll do some sparring and exercises.' Bulat revealed.

Then let's go.' Tatsumi said, drawing his sword. 'Wait!' His mentor ordered. Tatsumi turned to him with a confused look in his emerald-green eyes 'You can't just run in there without a plan.' The professional assassin warned him.

'It takes more than passion to stay alive, you know.' Bulat stated calmly. 'So what do you suggest, bro?' He asked. 'We'll be heavily outnumbered. We'll have to ambush them them and weed them out little by little.' The former soldier instructed. 'Got it! Will you be using Incursio?' Tatsumi asked. 'Yup. Maybe I'll use my trump card 'invisibility'.' Bulat responded.

'What?! You can turn invisible, bro?' The boy repeated in disbelief. 'Yeah.' Bulat replied in cool fashion. 'Your imperial arm is awesome, bro!' Tatsumi complimented. 'I'm glad you recognize its greatness.' Bulat said in amusement. 'He seems to know how things work. He has probably seen his fair share of combat.' He thought, while he managed to watch his movements.

Tatsumi wondered how his mentor became that good in fighting. They paused for a few minutes after having killed a big amount of danger beasts. 'Where did you learn fighting that well?' Tatsumi inquired.

'I'll start from the beginning. My childhood was pretty average, then I became an imperial soldier and rose through the ranks. I served under General Liver, who was like a father to me, but eventually the prime minister demanded a certain amount payment, so everyone could maintain his position. Corruption basically. Logically my old friend refused and got incarcerated in the process.

Against his expectations, he was then sentenced to life-long arrest. Eventually I began to see the flaws of this corrupt empire like the boss and resigned from the army, as our work became increasingly more 'questionable'. Now I'm fighting for Night Raid against the tyranny of the empire.' Bulat reminisced. 'There are actually good guys of them?!' Tatsumi thought in disbelief.

'I'm sorry…is there a way to get him out of that situation?' He asked. 'Aside from storming the imperial palace? Nope.' His comrade responded with shut and resigned eyes. 'I wonder where you learned fighting at such a young age. How old are you? 19?' Bulat asked.

'I'm 18 years old. Uhm…There was a veteran in my village, who taught me Karate until recently. I managed to achieve the black belt. As for my sword skills, I always went hunting high-level danger beasts.' He answered, griping and scratching his throat, leaving subtle red marks on the right side of his neck.

'Sounds interesting. I'd say we cleared most of the area. I think we can proceed with the second part of the training.' Bulat formulated with an encouraging smirk. 'Uh…sounds good.' Tatsumi agreed, going through the back of his head, as he came back to life. At the base…

After doing fitness, they proceeded to do sparring, though this form was unusual Tatsumi. Instead of the typical 1vs1, Bulat replicated fights against multiple enemies, showing off the ability to react to someone's environment when brought to the maximum. He was amazed by how easily and fluently his mentor absolved these movements, while he was…not nearly as graceful.

'Now it's your turn again, Tatsumi. Try to replicate my movements. React to your surroundings.' Bulat advised with a serious, but calm expression, while he held his wooden spear tight in his hand. 'Got it, bro!' He nodded. Tatsumi charged towards the target, while he had to overcome several obstacles.

As he sprinted forward, he slid through under a dummy, which held a sword on chest height. As he continued the run, he jumped over an obstacle swung at him on ankle height. As he was almost at his target, he jumped came across a dummy holding a sword towards his face, but this time Bulat positioned his fist in his way, so Tatsumi would have to react quickly.

The apprentice quickly put his katana in between his teeth, so he could block the sword, while he blocked Bulat's fist with his left hand, switched over with his right hand, grabbed Bulat's arm, holding it in place and countered with a strong sidekick, placing his right leg into Bulat's rib.

After this final obstacle was overcome, he reached the last unarmed dummy and attacked it with a diagonal downwards arc. 'Nice one!' Bulat cheered, raising his thumb. 'Thank you…bro.' Tatsumi panted, sinking to the ground into a sitting position. 'Let's sit down and have a drink.' The ex-soldier suggested, as he sat down next to his comrade, letting him lean against him.

'Ahhhh…I feel like I'm reborn,' Tatsumi sighed, as he gulped down the replenishing liquid and poured the rest over himself. 'You're getting the hang of it.' Bulat remarked. 'Thanks to all of your training.' He returned, glancing over to his mentor. 'Do you have more tips for me to become stronger?' Tatsumi asked, tightly gripping his arms.

'Training, training and more training.' The Incursio wielder preached. 'I have the feeling that I don't have the time for that…' Tatsumi muttered, as he buried his head in between his thighs. 'Don't sweat it, Tatsumi! Just remember to give it all you've got every single moment you fight, so you can always feel the fire in your soul burning, until it can't be smothered.' Bulat advised his student, giving him a thumb and flashing him a bright smile as his teeth glistened in the light of the setting sun.

'The fire in my soul, huh?' Tatsumi repeated, gripping onto his upper chest, where his heart was beating slowly but gently, as he gazed up to the beautiful, cloudless sky. 'But I have some more advice for you.' The experienced assassin brought up, pulling him out of his distant thoughts. 'That is?' Tatsumi questioned, while he tried to stand up.

'As I mentioned earlier, it takes more than passion to alive. In combat you need to strategize quickly based on circumstance like enemy behavior, specific weak spots of a strong enemy and what not. Also if you prepare an assault on a target, you can't just walk in and try to murder everyone you come across. We're not almighty, so we need to think about the most efficient and safe way to eliminate our targets or else we might end up dead.' Bulat explained, looking at the disciple with a more than serious expression.

'How can I improve on this?' Tatsumi asked. 'Experience' Bulat replied, while he patted him on the head. 'I see.' He said with a thoughtful expression. 'It also helps knowing your enemy, so you can make a plan. You must stay observant at all times during battle.' The mentor added, raising his index finger in an educative manner. 'Arigatou gozaimasu, Aniki. This will definitely help me become a better fighter.' Tatsumi thanked his teacher by bowing to him, as he stood up.

'The thing is, I can't just give you a worksheet and you write down combat strategies since theory doesn't necessarily mirror the reality. Like I said, you need to develop this skill through experience, but I'm sure you can do it.' He stated, his presence radiating with confidence. 'I'll definitely keep it in mind.' His student said as thoughtful as before.

'That's basically it. You can either rest until tonight…oooor we can do a 1vs1?' Bulat offered, grabbing his wooden staff, as if he was already challenging his pupil. 'Of course.' Tatsumi happily agreed, grabbing his training sword.

They clashed fiercely, not giving up any ground. Tatsumi continued with his aggressive sword style and even managed to hit him on the shoulder, but as exhausted as he was he couldn't keep it up for long. Eventually Bulat adapted to his fighting style and managed to send him on the ground.

'If this was a real fight, you would have only had a few scratches at best.' He pouted, slamming his fist into the ground. 'Don't worry. Tatsumi. You'll get there eventually.' Bulat encouraged him, while he helped him to stand up.

'Your swordsmanship is aggressive, powerful and quick, but will tire out over time. When you slash you could cut up some extra movement in order to be faster and save some energy.' The experienced assassin analyzed, while he went behind Tatsumi and wrapped his arms around him to further clarify his advices. 'Like this.' He said, helping him to demonstrate the move with the support of his muscular arms.

'Now that you mention it, I felt it too. I'll work on it. Thanks.' He admitted, panting slightly.  
'I think we can call it a day. Dinner will be soon and later we'll go after that 'headhunter'. Try to improve on what you've learned today and use it to your advantage in combat. Your training with me is officially finished.' Bulat announced.

'Aw, don't be like this. We'll train together again soon.' Tatsumi chuckled, giving him a light punch on the shoulder. Let's go eat dinner. My stomach is killing me.' He proposed. 'Same.' Tatsumi agreed. 'Ey, bro…' He started, as he stood still on the spot with a slumped posture and clenched hands. 'Hm?' He asked.

'Do you think, I have what it takes to be a good assassin?' Tatsumi questioned, his gaze focused on the ground since he only expected one answer. 'Damn sure. You just need a firm touch.' Bulat replied, patting him on the shoulder.

Tatsumi was at a loss for words since this was an answer he would have never expected. He still looked after his mentor, who slowly walked towards the entry of the base, while he was stuck on the spot. 'Thanks…' He whispered.

After what felt like a few moments what in reality were entire minutes, he came back to his senses. 'I should pay Akame a visit in the kitchen. She could probably need some help. Or maybe I'm just afraid that she'll sample the entire dinner.' He thought. Inside the kitchen…

'Hey, what's up, Akame? Do you need any help?' Tatsumi asked nonchalantly. 'Please cut the onions for me. We are cooking meat and salad.' She instructed completely focused on cooking. 'Today, we'll fight against that psychopath. I wonder how we're going to find him.' He questioned, quickly chopping the spring onion into small rings.

'We are going into the capital and wait until he attacks one of us. Why? Are you nervous?' Akame returned. 'No, not really. With you in my team there's nothing that could possibly go wrong. I just wonder what his imperial arm is.' Tatsumi answered with a subtle charm in his voice, shortly turning his attention to her, while he cut up some tomatoes.

'You know what imperial arms are?' Akame asked. He raised his index finger as if he was about to say something smart. 'Aren't they these badass weapons with super cool abilities created a while ago?' He guessed, scratching the right part of his neck. 'Close.' She answered. 'I will explain it to you on the way to the capital. I am done with cooking. Are you?' The meat-addict asked, placing the meat on all the plates.

'I'm done.' Tatsumi said, taking a few bowls of salad into his hands. After dinner was prepared, everyone sat down and was ready to eat. He sat between Sheele and Bulat. The boy consciously moved away from the playful blonde, who would more often than not shove him into her voluminous melons.

He wouldn't defend against it, since her breasts felt admittedly pretty soft, but there were instances in which he just could not tolerate this form of affection such as when he simply wanted to eat.

Akame and Tatsumi sat opposite to each other and nodded. 'Go!' They shouted in unison. Both assassins devoured the masses of evilbird meat on their plates within a matter of seconds. 'Done.' Akame shouted in the same instance as her rival. 'No, god please no! Now we got two of them?!' Mine yelled, violently waving her hands through the air.

'I was faster.' Tatsumi yelled, completely ignoring the complaints of the pink sniper, causing everybody to laugh. 'Do you want something to drink, Tatsumi?' Sheele asked with a kind smile. 'Oh, arigatou. I'd like to have water.' He said, while he stroked his overly bloated belly.

But as clumsy as Sheele was, she dropped the bottle accidentally but Tatsumi caught it before the bottle could hit the ground or drop on her purple qipao-style dress due to his great reflexes and because he could sort of see it happening with Sheele. 'Thank you.' He said, giving her a warm smile in return.

He completely disregarded her clumsiness. Otherwise it wouldn't be fair towards her, since she always tried to be useful in any way she could and in the end she has been the kindest person he has ever known. After Sayo's death, Tatsumi took the white orchid flower, which always adorned her black hair and put it in a small vase, so the beautiful flower wouldn't decay.

Yet Tatsumi trained obsessively in order to never let something like this happen again so he obviously had no time to water the plant. Once he realized he forgot about it, he was pretty upset. Understandably. After all, it was everything he had left from his deceased love. Fortunately someone regularly fulfilled his duty for him.

(Flashback)

'Fuck! Hopefully the flower isn't dead. I'm so fucking stupid. How could I forget her?' Tatsumi thought in remorse, as he sprinted towards his room with a can of water in hand. He suddenly spotted Sheele in his room. 'Oh hi, Sheele. What are you doing in my room?'He greeted her, gasping for air.

'I just watered the flower over there. You trained all the time and as I saw that the flower needed water, I just did that.' Sheele replied with an innocent and kind look in her eyes, relieving him of his fears. His body moved on its own and in the next instant he deeply hugged Sheele.

'Have I been useful to you?' The woman asked, while she returned the embrace. 'Very useful. Thank you very much.' He uttered, tightening the embrace around her slightly. 'No problem. I don't mind taking care of it, so you can train longer.' She offered. 'Thanks, but I think I can do that.' He giggled, sweat running down his forehead.

'I'll go eat breakfast now. Are you coming too?' Sheele asked, leaving the hug. 'No, I'm training with Akame.' He sweatdropped again. 'Ok, but don't forget the flower.' The airhead reminded him, as she headed downstairs.

'Thank you, Sheele. You have no idea how much that means to me.' Tatsumi thought, as he stared at Sayo's beautifully blooming, white orchid flower. (Flashback end)

So Tatsumi always viewed her as the kind-hearted woman, who wanted to help her friends instead of a clumsy airhead. After everyone ate up, all the Night Raid members already departed in order to hunt down and eliminate Zanku, except for the two cooks, who still cleaned the dishes.

'Hey, Akame…I know Sheele can be a bit clumsy and stuff, but she's so kind, I can't believe it.' Tatsumi expressed, while he used a towel to dry a plate. She reminded him so much of someone he once knew. 'Sheele is the kindest person in this world. She doesn't deserve to be called an airhead.' Akame agreed, finishing their remaining work.

'Isn't her birthday tomorrow?' He asked uncertain. She nodded. 'Oh crap! I don't have a gift for her.' Tatsumi yelled with his hands over his head. 'We can buy something in the capital. We should head to the capital and fulfill our mission.' She assured him. 'You're right. Let's move.' Tatsumi agreed, throwing over his hood. Later in the capital…

Both assassins stood next to a shop, in which the boy could buy a gift for his friend. 'Do you know what Sheele likes?' Tatsumi questioned with a desperate sigh. 'Literature.' Akame replied. Immediately he thought of this book she read the first time they met, which was supposed to cure airheadness.

He also spotted an updated version '1000 ways to clear airheadness of it in a shelf at the entry of the shop, but he refused this idea, since he thought that Sheele would rather view it as a joke instead of an honest gift and he would find it rather insulting towards her. 'Does she like a specific genre?' He asked, scratching the top of his head.

'Crime.' Akame responded in hopes of giving him an idea. 'What will you give her?' Tatsumi asked, turning his focus back to her. 'I made the cake, while you and Bulat were training.' She answered. 'You could buy her some beauty products.' He suggested. 'You're right.' She said, giving him a confirming nod.

'Ok, I'll get that done real quick.' Tatsumi announced, while she hid in the alley waiting for him. He entered the shop and searched it for any enjoyable subjects fitting to the given description. 'Finally, there we go. 'Silence of the lambs.' That should keep her entertained.' The assassin assessed, triumphantly raising his fist.

He also chose a body lotion for Akame, which she would gift to Sheele and a gift card, which he would write later, given he survives the mission ahead of him. He paid the products and met up outside with Akame again. 'That's done. I wonder when Zanku takes the bait.' Tatsumi questioned. 'Soon enough.' Akame predicted, walking straight forward.

'Speaking of which…you wanted to teach me about imperial arms.' The recruit switched topics, finally catching up to his friend. 'Something like this.' He started, unsheathing her katana 'Murasame'. 'Well…I still have no clue, but damn your katana looks cool.' Tatsumi stated with eyes wide in amazement.

'I'm glad you like my sword.' Akame said in her usual monotone voice. 'Imperial arms also known as teigus were constructed 1000 years ago. The emperor of this time was concerned that he wouldn't protect his citizens anymore, since his lifespan was limited. To offer protection, he constructed these weapons. In order to construct them, he gathered the empire's best scientists.

Then he took the materials of high-levels and a rare metal named 'Orihalcon'. He fused them and created 48 different imperial arms, my katana being one of them. Half of them were lost in a civil war 500 years ago.' Akame explained. 'Is there any way I could acquire one?' Tatsumi inquired, focusing his eyes on the blade.

'Either you find an imperial arm, that bonds with you or you kill an imperial arms user and hope their weapon bonds with you.' The katana-wielder answered resheating 'Murasame'. 'How do I know if an imperial arm bonds with me?' Tatsumi kept on shooting questions.

'The first impression will tell you, if an imperial arm bonds with you. If you like an imperial arm on first sight, it will likely bond with you and the other way around.' Akame informed her pupil. 'Ok…' He said cupping his chin with his two fingers. 'Let's take 'Murasame' for example. What was your first impression?' She questioned, unsheathing the deadly sword.

'I was thrilled. I liked it.' Tatsumi realized, his gaze narrowed to the red hilt of katana. 'Let's give it a try. I have to warn you though. 'Murasame' is special. It feeds on negative emotions to tolerate one as its wielder.' The owner reminded him, while she handed the katana over to him. 'Don't worry, Akame. I may have even more than you.' He lamented in his mind, short before he got to wield the imperial arm.

'How does it feel?' She asked. 'It feels great…I love it.' Tatsumi responded, excitedly practicing a few sword swings. 'It feels like…this sword…wants to protect me.' He continued amazed, while he immensely tightened his grip on the sword. 'Perfect. If it didn't bond with you, it would have caused you intense pain in your hand in which you were holding 'Murasame' until you dropped it.' Akame revealed.

'I'm taking it for myself now!' Tatsumi joked, possessively clinging to it with a mischievous grin. 'It's yours of course. I will find that one imperial that fits me.' He giggled, giving the katana back to its rightful owner. 'As you may know imperial arms have a trump card in battle.' Akame continued her explanation. 'yeah, for example bro's 'Incursio' can provide invisibility.' Tatsumi said, remembering his mentor showing it off today.

'Exactly. In fact imperial arms are so strong, that there is one iron-clad rule.' She started. 'That is?' He asked. 'When two imperial arms users clash, one of them will die for sure. Now you know everything about imperial arms.' Akame said monotone, ending her imperial arms crash course. 'Thanks, I'm educated now…I guess. What does 'Murasame' actually do then?' Tatsumi asked intrigued.

'My sword is a 'one-hit-kill-sword'. When I cut someone, a deadly curse enters the person's body, reaching out for their heart, killing the target in seconds. There is no antidote.' Akame reviewed as monotone as ever. 'Wow, that's pretty powerful.' He acknowledged with eyes widened in amazement.

'Sometimes one cut won't do enough. For example if I fight against undead or armored targets, I have to cut them to pieces.' She admitted. 'Or if you fight against someone with heavy armor like bro. You would have trouble cutting their flesh, right?' Tatsumi added. 'That is why I can't rely on one-hit kills only.' Akame concluded, tightly holding 'Murasame' on its hilt.

'That isn't much of a problem. Your swordsmanship is perfect.' He complimented. 'Thanks.' She said, as her cheeks were turning slightly red. 'What about the others? They sure have imperial arms too.' The boy assumed.

'Yes. You have already seen Bulat's 'Incursio' armor. It puts a huge strain on the huge strain on the user's body, but grants a lot of physical strength and durability as well as defensive capabilities. Then we have Mine's 'Roman artillery Pumpkin'. It is a rifle, which is fueled by the user's emotions.

Next we have 'Beast transformation Lionelle'. It is Leone's imperial arm. She gains enhanced physical strength, speed and recovery. Her appearance will turn into half woman half lion. Her senses like smelling are also advanced due to her imperial arm. She can even 'smell', if someone is lying or sense their inner personality and struggles. I should warn you though. Sometimes Leone takes over lion-like traits altering her behavior.' She revealed. 'I see.' He said with a thoughtful expression.

'Next up is Lubbock.' She started. Oh right…Lubbock. He doesn't seem lethal at all.' He interrupted. 'His imperial arm is 'Crosstail'. He can manipulate string in any way. He can place traps, form weapons, strangulate enemies and more. All in all very versatile.' Akame reviewed. 'Aha. That's how he immediately knew we had intruders a few days ago.' Tatsumi figured.

'Then we have Sheele's 'Cut everything Extase'. A heavy, longer scissor, which acts as a big sword. Can cut through literally anything. Can also be used for defense. And last…' Akame stopped. 'My One-cut-killer 'Murasame'.' She finished. 'Do you have a trump card?' The hooded assassin asked.

'I do. But I can't use it as of now.' Akame admitted. 'Cleaning this sword must be nerve-racking since you're not allowed to get yourself cut.' Tatsumi said. 'Well observed. This is the only drawback of this weapon.' The owner pointed out. 'If that's your only problem…' Tatsumi giggled, as they continued walking through the capital, until Zanku would make his move.

'Have you ever had an imperial arm?' She asked, looking at him with her blank stare. 'No…' He replied, while he scratched the right half of his neck. 'Oh, there's a bench. We could sit there a little bit, if you want.' Tatsumi offered, pointing towards the bench. Akame nodded, sitting down with her comrade. 'Do you want something to drink? This one is on me.' The boy offered with a gentle smirk.

'Yes, a softdrink, please.' She agreed. 'Two softdrinks, please.' He ordered politely. He paid the drinks and returned to Akame. 'Thanks.' She said, taking the bottle. Tatsumi leaned back and took a zip from the delicious liquid. For a few moments, silence took over, as they stared at the full, white moon. 'Tatsumi…' Akame began. 'What is it?' He asked, turning his completely on her again.

'How do you like it in Night Raid?' She finished her question with the same gaze she had, when they were introduced to each other. 'I like it a lot. Even though we only know each other for a short time, I feel very comfortable with you guys. I can't describe it, but…you give me a feeling I've long forgotten. Comradery, friendship and happiness. But to be honest…' Tatsumi paused, staring at the full, white moon again.

'I love passing time with you. It's always nice, when I'm with you.' He explained with his cute signature grin. 'I'm glad you like it in Night Raid.' Akame returned with a subtle smile.

'Should I go for the girl or rather the boy?' Oh, look into his eyes…There's so much pain, I better end his suffering quickly…How utterly delightful,' A twisted voice exclaimed, hidden from the assassins. A bit later…

'What was that?' Tatsumi thought, shooting up from the bench. 'Akame?' He whispered. 'Hm?' She asked with closed eyes. 'I'm away for a second. Just wait here, okay?' Tatsumi whispered, putting on his hood. 'Okay, but we need to continue with the mission.' She stated almost like a machine. 'Don't worry, Akame. I'll be right back.' He assured her quietly, standing up from the bench. 'Be careful, Tatsumi…' Akame whispered, stretching out her left hand to him, yet he already ran off through the dark alley.

Tatsumi tracked down the thing he assumed he saw, until they arrived in a big, open yard, on which the moon shone its light upon. He closed in on the girl only to be shocked by his discovery.

'But…you're dead… Sayo, my love…You are dead.' Tatsumi uttered, his legs giving way, making him sink down. Down into an endlessly dark pit.

His hands trembled, shaking violently. He had to remember just to breathe. Breathe! The guilt, sorrow and sadness he felt, reminded him of his deep misery literally killing him from inside.

Tatsumi was reminded of how miserable he was and how much of a failure his life actually was and will be, but as much as he wanted to embrace the illusion to comfort himself, he knew she was just a dead shadow of his past life. He had to move on and not get stuck with the past.

He was an assassin after all. An emotionless killing machine like Akame. Or at least he was supposed to be. 'I'm sorry, Sayo…I have failed you.' He muttered silently, while he gently stroked her left cheek. Suddenly he could hear Sayo pull out a sword.

Tatsumi quickly reacted and impaled her with his sword, making her collapse on the ground with her eyes widened in shock. He collapsed with her into this endless, dark pit again. He dropped the murder weapon due to his hands shaking violently again. Staying conscious became an almost impossible task for the assassin, as his eyes were forcefully trying to close themselves.

'How could I bring myself to kill her?' Tatsumi questioned himself, burying his tear-filled face in his hands, his head hovering only several millimeters above her. Even though he was so close to her, he couldn't have been further away from her. 'We loved each other. I don't deserve to be called a human. I'm a monster. I'm a demon.' He admitted to himself, while he looked down at Sayo, even though he couldn't bear the sight in front of him.

'Ouch! Hey, you filth! You should have seen the person you love the most. How could you kill her?' 'Sayo' questioned with a manly and twisted voice, while she stood up to face him again. 'I don't have loved ones anymore. They are all dead, including her.' Tatsumi stated coldly.

Suddenly Sayo was engulfed in smoke, revealing a tall man wearing a white-grey coat and a twisted smirk. 'I'm impressed you saw through my little trick. How did you do that, boy?' The grinning man inquired with his twisted voice. 'She's gone, so I figured that this must been some sort of illusion and after you attacked me, I knew I should react and use the moment of surprise. You must be Zanku…' Tatsumi revealed.

'I'd prefer you call me a different name. 'Headhunter Zanku', if you don't mind.' He said rather normal. 'Was this the power of your imperial arm?' The assassin asked, while picked up his sword and stood up. 'Bingo! It's called 'spectator'. I have 5 different abilities. This was one og them, but it worked out great as you can see.' Zanku revealed pleased.

'Let me guess…you can read my mind, right?' Tatsumi sighed. 'Yup. 'Insight' grants me the ability to read you like an open book. Let's see…Ow! That's so dark, I don't even want to read that!' Zanku shied away, the terror written in the psychopath's eyes. 'You're smarter than you look. Not necessarily advantageous. Anyway I'm here to end you're suffering and add your head to my collection. I wonder what your face will look like.' Zanku said pleased, swinging his arms in excitement.

'Funny…I was about to say the same thing.' The assassin countered coldly, raising his sword and pointing it at his target. 'Too bad…that little bitch wasn't useful at all.' Zanku lamented.

The faint sound of his gritting teeth could be heard. His body was shaking again. Shaken by wrath. He lashed out at Zanku with a rage-driven scream, trying to chop his head off. Without him noticing, his eyes began to burn in their bloodshot-yellow color. Tatsumi lunched forward like a wounded animal, trying to kill his adversary as quickly and brutal as possible, yet Zanku always managed to block or evade.

If it wasn't for his imperial arm Tatsumi's sword thrust would have been a clean hit, resulting in a brutal death. Every slash of the assassin was accompanied by an immensely angered roar. 'You know…we're both alike…These eyes…all the same. Our eyes are the eyes of hunters. The eyes of monsters.' The psychopath stated amused, while he dodged a one-handed side slash from the assassin.

The answer he received was a rage-filled cry and suddenly the assassin shot a pillar of black-blue fire at him with his left fist, yet Zanku managed to evade the blast in time. 'Wohohoah…You're even worse than me. Your eyes…they are blind. Blinded by rage and hatred. You're just a beast trying to rip apart anything that it comes across.' The headhunter corrected himself with a wide grin, unable to hold back his excitement for the fight.

As the fight went on Tatsumi continued to aggressively slash against Zanku, yet he always managed to block. 'Why is this prick always blocking my attacks? Is it that what you're thinking? Zanku replicated Tatsumi's thoughts guessed with teasing smirk.

'It's called 'foresight'. I can read your muscle movements, thus being able to see your next move.' Zanku praised himself in his disturbingly pleased voice. 'Oh, you're armed to the teeth. Especially these hidden blades.' He revealed. 'You pervert can see through my clothes?!' A cute chibi version of Tatsumi yelled with razor sharp teeth, waving his left fist through the air.

'Just another ability of my imperial arm. Just to make sure I know about all your weapons.' Zanku kept revealing, while he blocked Tatsumi's sword attacks.

'I want you to beg for mercy before I slowly take off your head.' Zanku added delighted while he licked the edge of his left blade. 'Never! I'll fight until the last drop of my blood is spilled.' Tatsumi retorted, bashing his head against Zanku's in an attempt to break his imperial arm, but to no avail.

He was sent staggering backwards slightly, unable to clearly foresee the assassin's next sword strike. Tatsumi drastically increased the speed of his sword swings, cutting his target across the left cheek. 'You little shit! How is that possible?' The self-proclaimed headhunter yelled in pain. The two crashed their blades onto each other, locking gazes.

Tatsumi looked into Zanku's twisted, blood-hungry eyes, seeing the many innocent people the headhunter has slain in animalistic ways. On the other hand Zanku stared into Tatsumi's yellow-bloodshot eyes, seeing the hatred and the insatiable thirst for blood and revenge. 'I will send you to hell.' Tatsumi pressed out of his mouth, while he pushed his sword against Zanku's blades.

Even for a psychopath like him, Tatsumi's hateful glare was making his body shake in fear. He could only see the eyes under the hood thus viewing him more as a demon than a helpless lamb. Zanku managed to scratch Tatsumi on his upper right arm, making in groan in pain and anger. 'What are you planning, kid?' Zanku taunted, pressing his opponent back.

'Your demise!' Tatsumi retorted, drawing his sword slightly back. He allowed Zanku to cut across his left eye to get out of balance, so he could cut him severely in the process. Tatsumi cut Zanku across the entire chest in an attempt to destroy his respiratory system and even managed to cut his throat slightly.

'A professional wouldn't have missed. You turn out to be some 'headhunter'.' The assassin taunted. The target went absolutely berserk, kicking Tatsumi several feet away. He landed on his back, blood being forced up his mouth. Zanku sprinted towards Tatsumi, until a crimson-red eyed woman jumped in between them. Her gaze was cold and deadly.

'Oh…the infamous Akame. I looked forward to adding you to my collection.' Zanku stated disturbingly excited. 'Me too, since you are my target. Looks like my friend beat you up pretty hard.' She pointed out as monotone as always. 'A…Akame.' Her comrade whispered exhausted. 'Don't worry, Tatsumi. I will finish this quickly and then I will tend to your wounds.' Akame assured him with a caring smile.

'Be careful. He can read your thoughts and predict your moves. He's also able to create illusions.' Tatsumi warned her. 'It won't matter that he can read my moves…if he can't keep up.' The assassin stated, readying herself for battle. 'Homeru' Akame mumbled in a voice devoid of emotion, yet murderous.

Zanku immediately scanned his new foe for any concealed weaponry, not finding anything except her katana 'Murasame' directly aimed at him. Akame charged at Zanku with impressive speed, attacking him with several swings of her katana not catchable for the normal person's eyes. 'Wow, they're fast. So that's how imperial arms users fight…' Tatsumi thought impressed, while he struggled to keep his consciousness, let alone stand up.

While he hasn't been hit often, this rage-induced form took a massive toll on his body, so he couldn't maintain this form for an extended period of time without specific training, unless sustained by immense wrath and hatred like an inferno. It requires oxygen to burn. To live. To survive.

Meanwhile they left their engagement, creating a bit of distance between them. As Zanku tried to read Akame's thoughts in order to predict her next move, but he could only find a black void. 'You've cleared your mind of thoughts. Most impressive, Akame.' Zanku praised her amused. She continued to assault her target like a machine with incredibly fast sword slashes, forcing him to block most of the time.

As the fight went on, it became apparent, that Akame clearly had the upper hand in this battle. In the meantime Tatsumi was still lying on the ground, panting heavily, almost choking on his own blood. He was enraged at himself for being so weak, unable to finish this mindless lunatic off himself.

He hated Zanku. He hated being weak. He hated the pain. He hated himself for being so pathetically weak. And this hatred was what fueled this gigantic, hellish inferno that raged inside his lifeless soul. His urge to destroy everything in his path. He simply stood up and ignored the agony, throwing up a huge amount of blood.

Tatsumi was ready to punish Zanku for all the helpless victims he slaughtered. For attacking Akame. For abusing and insulting Sayo. Meanwhile the psychopath entered a dialogue with Akame.

'Do you hear the voices? All the voices of the people I've killed. They beg me to follow them to hell all the time. It's maddening me. Tell me…how do you deal with the voices, Akame?' Zanku asked hopeful.

'I don't hear them.' Akame replied coldly.

'I'm disappointed in you. I thought you could help me out there.' Zanku lamented, casting his illusionary ability on his opponent. 'Kurome?!' She registered heavily surprised with wide eyes. 'Akame! That's just a trick! She isn't really there!' Tatsumi yelled at her, hoping that she would not fall victim to this cheap and utterly disgusting trick like he almost did earlier. He wanted to rush over towards her, just so he could shake her body, so she would wake up from this nightmare, but his legs didn't obey him.

'It's no use. The ability is highly hypnotizing. She won't hear you.' The headhunter explained with a devious smirk, licking his teeth in anticipation, while he lunched towards Akame, completely certain of his triumph. But Akame swung her katana and broke his blades, leaving Zanku paralyzed in shock. 'Why is this trick not working today? How could you kill her? You should have seen one of your loved ones….' Zanku frantically questioned in utter disbelief, his whole body shaking and trembling in fear.

'I love her so much, that I want to kill her.' Akame explained devoid of any emotion, ready to deliver the killing blow. Akame quickly cut Zanku's throat, shortly after 'Murasame' claimed another victim, she saw a familiar blade sticking out of their target's chest, where his heart approximately was.

'Messatsu.' He mumbled in a lethal and threatening voice, while he kicked Zanku in the back to get rid of his corpse. He dropped lifeless on the floor, showing the hooded assassin, who was glaring at her with his hateful and intimidating, yellow-bloodshot eyes. 'Mission accomplished. Return to base.' Akame stated monotone.

'Good work, Tatsumi.' She added with a small, encouraging smile, hoping his eyes would change back to their beautiful emerald-green color, indicating that he calmed down. Tatsumi tore the imperial arm from the corpse and tossed it to Akame without looking at her.

He started off with decapitating the dead 'headhunter', almost crushing it with his bare hands. He continued to stab his corpse like a berserk. 'Sink into the depths of hell.' Tatsumi shouted at the dead corpse, continuing his massacre. 'Beg for mercy!' He added in his demonic voice. 'Tatsumi!' Akame shouted at the demonic assassin. 'What?' He shouted back, while he deeply rammed his sword into Zanku's chest again.

'He is dead! Please stop!' She pleaded with a worried face. Upon seeing the concern in her face, Tatsumi finally managed to get a hold of himself. 'I'm sorry, Akame…I just…' He muttered, unable to look her in the eyes as he stood up. 'It's okay. Let's leave and inform everyone that we have completed the mission.' She quietly spoke to further calm down Tatsumi.

'Let's leave this place. That Zanku had a crazy ability to show you a specific person.' Tatsumi agreed, his eyes almost glued to the floor. 'What did he show you?' She asked. He didn't say anything. He simply looked at her with a sad face and averted his gaze from her. 'It's ok, if you…' Akame offered, but was interrupted by the loud sound of blood dropping from his face down to the floor. Now he felt the consequences of his disregard for his own safety.

'Please don't inspect me for injuries…You would be mad at me.' Tatsumi stated as another drop of his blood hit the ground. Akame slowly and gently pulled back his hood revealing the fresh scar across his left eye. 'Oh god! Are you ok?' She asked worried that her comrade might be severely injured.

He approached Akame and pulled her into a soft embrace. 'Of course I am. It will probably on his own. Thank you for saving me from Zanku.' Tatsumi whispered. Akame was surprised by the sudden, friendly gesture. She could feel that, Tatsumi felt deeply troubled inside, therefore she returned the hug. 'You have to be more cautious.' Akame whispered, pulling him closer. 'I promise.' He returned calmly, placing his head on her right shoulder.

They remained like that for a few more moments. 'We should go now.' She reminded him as calm and collected as always. But he didn't want to go. He needed someone to fill the emptiness inside this broken and lifeless wasteland, he once called his heart, even if it was just for another moment. Someone…Anything...

'Let's go.' He agreed, breaking the hug. Nonetheless Akame was glad that her comrade was safe. At the base…

They slowly walked towards their base. As they passed the graves of Tatsumi's fallen friends, he suddenly stopped on the spot, as if chains restrained him. 'Tatsumi…' She said confused. 'Go on ahead and inform the others, please. I'll be back in a minute.' He told her with an incredibly false smile.

'But your…' Akame started concerned, closing the distance between them. 'I know. Meet me in my room. I'll be there in a minute.' Tatsumi interrupted. 'Ok. Until later.' She gave in, walking past him towards the entry of the base. He waited for a few long moments, until he assumed she was gone.

Tatsumi dropped on all fours. As she heard the sound Akame turned around, before she could enter the mansion-like hideout. She couldn't move from the spot as much as she wanted to leave him alone. She was bound to see the boy shatter in the million pieces. To break like glass, collapsing on the ground.

'So he was shown his passed girlfriend and was forced to kill her visually…' Akame figured. His body began to shake again like before and repeatedly slammed his fist in the ground. Akame decided to leave him alone and vanished inside the base, doing as Tatsumi said.

'How? How could I? How could I stain my hands with the blood of my loved ones again?' He questioned himself, pressing his hands against ears, while he arched his back, so he would be separated only a few millimeters from Sayo's grave. As if she was trying to drag him down with her again.

He wished he never knew love, because the pain of losing it was killing him from inside like a burning inferno of rage, self-loathing, sadness and misery. He excused himself towards his buried friends, but no excuse could ever make up for the failure that was his life. He couldn't do anything but to kneel and suffer.

Yet he was a 'hardened killer'. An assassin. He had to leave his past behind or otherwise it would inevitably become his undoing on his path to revenge. It was only an illusion, but everything felt so real. The pain felt so real. He had to hold strong and keep a clear mind for the sake of his only purpose, which was revenge. He left the graves, entering the base.

No one was there and all lights were shut. 'Akame must have informed everyone went to bed. Now she's probably in my room, waiting for me…' He concluded. He didn't feel like having company right now though, so he just laid himself on the couch to get some rest in order to forget what happened tonight, if that was even possible. It took Tatsumi only a minute to fall asleep, but before he did, he heard some footsteps quietly coming down the stairs.

'Where am I?' Tatsumi asked himself, finding himself in the same big, open yard, where he killed Zanku. He spotted a young woman holding his sword in her hands. He approached her heavily confused, finding out it was Sayo.

'I'm sorry, sweetheart…I have to move on. Can you give me my sword, please?' Tatsumi said. 'With pleasure, my love.' Sayo answered, turning on him and quickly ramming his own sword into his chest. 'Why?' He questioned desperate. 'Do you know it feels to get stabbed through the chest? Do you know how death feels? About time someone does that to you!' Sayo responded with an unforgettably sadistic grin. He dropped to his knees and tried to pull the sword out of his breast, but he failed.

'I want you to suffer for the rest of your miserable life.' Sayo exclaimed in sadistic joy. Everything became blurry all of a sudden, releasing him of the torturous scenery. Tatsumi immediately shot up from the couch. He touched himself in search of a sword in his chest, but fortunately couldn't find one. It laid next to him, glistening in the moonlight.

He pressed his fingers against the scar on his left eye. 'Hngh…' The perception of pain led him to the conclusion, that he was back in the cruel reality. He remembered Sayo's final words. 'I will always be with you. We always will.' She whispered at the verge of death. Always with him…to haunt him in every single moment of his miserable life.

Before he could further sink into despair and hatred, he was pulled out of his world by Akame, who was lightly shaking Tatsumi on his right shoulder. She had a concerned look on her face. His skin color turned pale and fear stood written in his troubled emerald-green eyes. 'What are you doing here?' He stuttered.

'I was waiting for you in your room to treat your injuries and then I heard you scream.' Akame returned with an attentive gaze searching him for any sign of discomfort. 'I'm sorry. I must have passed out for a few moments.' Tatsumi apologized, while he wiped away the sweat that trickled down his forehead.

She could feel that Tatsumi felt troubled inside. That right now Tatsumi needed someone. That right now Tatsumi needed a friend. He was pulled out of his deep thoughts, as Akame took his hand. 'Where are we going?' The boy asked with a small blush on his face. 'Outside.' She responded shortly. Outside…

The full, white moon shone on the training grounds, providing enough light for the assassins to clearly see each other. Akame tossed Tatsumi his training katana. 'We are going to be training now.' The female said with a small smile. For a split second he was puzzled as to why she wanted to train with him right now, until he realized it. 'Thank you, Akame. I appreciate it.' He returned grateful, while he took his fighting stance.

For 2 hours they clashed under the moonlight, until Tatsumi slowly ran out of stamina and Akame overpowered him with her immense speed and her prowess in sword fighting. Yet throughout the whole training battle he had a soft smile on his face and kept it after she helped him to stand up. Both assassins went back inside the base. Inside the living room…

'That was fun.' Tatsumi stated happily, walking close to her. 'We still need to treat your wounds.' Akame reminded. 'Oh right…I almost forgot.' He realized, undressing the upper part of his assassin robe. She got a disinfectant, some healing cream and bandages. 'This will sting a little bit…' Akame informed him, before she applied the disinfectant over his scars.

He let out a muffled groan of pain, but he felt a somewhat soothing sensation as Akame applied the cream and wrapped his upper right arm in a bandage. 'Do you want me to bandage your eye?' She asked, while she tidied everything up. 'No, I need the eye sight. Thank you.' Tatsumi refused with a warm smile, as he dressed himself. All of a sudden a painful sensation overcame him. 'Is there a sink anywhere near?' Tatsumi asked with his face twitching together in discomfort, before he held his mouth and his upper chest.

'In the kitchen.' She answered. Tatsumi sprinted inside the kitchen and threw up a bit of his blood again. She quickly followed him inside. 'I'm fine…' He managed to express, wiping the remaining blood away from his mouth. This was the price Tatsumi paid. He slowly limped towards the couch, feeling the dizziness impair his vision for several moments.

In the meantime Akame prepared some tea for Tatsumi and herself. Once the tea was ready, she returned to him with two cups of peppermint tea. As he took a zip from the delicious tea, Akame began to speak. 'Did you suffer internal bleedings in the fight against our target?' She asked with a dead serious expression coupled up with a trace of concern.

'No, I don't think so. All I remember was hatred, rage and pain…' Tatsumi denied. 'It's a drawback of my hidden power.' He reluctantly added. 'Please don't tell anyone.' The male assassin pleaded, while his posture became tense and his eyes full with worries. 'Don't worry. I won't.' She assured him, respecting his wish for privacy.

'We should rest. Tomorrow will be an eventful day.' Akame recommended with closed eyes. 'You're right. Let's call it day.' He agreed, as he emptied his cup of tea. 'Good night, Akame. And…thank you.' Tatsumi said with a soft smile. 'Good night, Tatsumi.' She returned with a subtle smile of her own, while she headed upstairs.

Right as he was about to follow her, someone entered the base. It was his favorite drunk blonde Leone. 'Onee-chan, did you get yourself drunk again?' Tatsumi asked already knowing the answer. 'Me? Of course not!' Leone denied, even though her red cheeks clearly indicated something else. Tatsumi went inside the kitchen to make a coffee for the alcoholic. She didn't perceive too much and landed on the couch.

He returned with a cup of coffee, registering that she was spread out all over the piece of furniture. 'Tatsumi, handsome…Please let me sleep in your room. I'm too wasted to find mine.' Leone pleaded in drunken excitement. 'You have your own room…' Tatsumi stated with a faint blush. 'Oh, I see. Congratulations to Akame-chan.' Leone pouted in frustration. 'No, she's sleeping in her room. What do you mean?' Tatsumi informed her calmly. 'It's really not what you think it is, Onee-chan.' He added.

'It's not what I think it is…' Leone repeated. 'Onee-chan! It's not what I think it is!' The blonde repeated happily, causing Tatsumi to giggle lightly. She was so utterly drunk, that she switched up names. 'Ey, Onee-chan…I think Akame-chan and Tatsumi are a couple. They spend so much time together.' Leone mentioned, expressing her frustration. The young man decided to play along.

'Tatsumi told me that he likes Akame, but they are not a couple. He also told me that he likes you as well as all the others in Night Raid. Why does this bother you?' Tatsumi explained with a thoughtful. 'You know…He's strong, has charm and a kind heart. And most of all he's not an idiot like Lubbock.' The alcoholic responded, not knowing who she's actually talking to.

'But don't tell him.' She added with an innocent look in her vivid yellow eyes. 'I won't.' Tatsumi laughed. 'Thanks for the tall, Onee-chan. I need a nap now.' Leone uttered, before falling asleep. She was right. He should pass more casual time with his friends instead of training 24/7.

'The two kinds of people, who always tell the truth: Either a baby or someone who is completely drunk.' Tatsumi sighed. 'And Onee-chan is definitely both of them.' He added in his mind. He walked towards Leone and picked her up. 'Come here, Onee-chan.' Tatsumi whispered, carrying her on his back. 'Thank you, Tatsumi.' Leone quietly returned. He carried the sleeping cat towards her bedroom and covered her with a blanket.

'To think we are hardened killers…Might as well run a kindergarden.' Tatsumi thought with a light chuckle, after he closed the door to her room. 'Hopefully she won't train me tomorrow. She would only teach me how to empty mug after mug of beer, if she even came sober to training to begin with…' Tatsumi reasoned. He approached his room at the end of the corridor, laying himself in his bed. He fell asleep, letting darkness take over…

24


	5. Chapter 5

_5_

_Kill the sorrow_

(Quick headsup: I'm sorry that it took so damn long, but it's a good one, I promise. Been drowing in work lately. I'm studying law, which doesn't make it easier to write chapter after chapter. But fear not, fellow reader, I have at least 20 chapters fully written out, that I planned for this fanfiction (we might have 40+ chapters), so I will definitely finish this story^^. But I have exams in mid February and I should study for it obviously. (It's hell, trust me…). That means I might not be able to write, until end of January, rather start of February, but as I said, don't worry, I have a plan and it will be executed.

Also I will post a chapter for my own anime novel 'Ashura', before chapter 6 most likely, just for the copyright and stuff. For more information and daily updates, check me out on my discord. Don't feel scared to send me a friend request^^ Ashura#3359. With that out of the way, I hope you enjoy the chapter^^)

Tatsumi awoke, hearing a knock on his door. He pushed himself out of bed and opened the door. 'Good morning, Akame.' He greeted with a sleepy smile. 'Good morning.' She returned. 'How do you feel?' Akame asked caringly. 'My wounds don't hurt anymore and I didn't throw up any blood. Thank you again for taking such good care of it.' He replied with a short and polite bow.

'No problem. You seem tired…' She stated in her monotone voice, pointing at the clearly visible rings under Tatsumi's eyes. 'Yeah…yesterday was rough and Leone woke me up in the middle of the night.' He sweatdropped. 'Did she say something interesting?' She asked. 'Not really. She was completely drunk. She said that I'm handsome and stuff. At one point she didn't even realize that she was talking to me.' He revealed laughingly.

'Typical of Leone.' Akame summarized, letting a light chuckle escape her. 'Do you want to skip training today?' She offered gently. 'No, it's ok. I feel good enough to train. Just a cup of coffee and I'm as good as new.' The student yawned, while he stretched himself. 'Unless you don't want to train…' He added with an attentive and hopeful gaze. 'Let's train then.' She nodded, earning a soft smile from her apprentice.

Both assassins silently headed downstairs, entering the living room, where he could have his much needed coffee. 'How did Leone reach her room? Normally she sleeps here, when she is drunk.' Akame asked. 'She didn't. She was so utterly drunk that she fell asleep within minutes, so I carried her to her bed.' He informed her, while he consumed his coffee. 'That's kind of you.' She said with a subtle smile.

They went towards the training grounds, doing the usual training routine. They had fun dueling each other, although Akame always won. 'Tatsumi…We need to lay the table for Sheele's birthday.' Akame reminded, blocking a diagonal downwards slash of Tatsumi. He stopped his onslaught immediately. 'Ok, then I'd say we stop it for now and get everything set up.' He advised, panting slightly, while he wiped away the sweat from his forehead.

He quickly took a shower and put on his assassin robe, since it looked surprisingly good for a festive occasion. His teacher in the art of sword fighting soon followed. The assassins began their highly complicated mission of decorating the living room for the upcoming party. While Akame cautiously placed the cake on the dining table, Tatsumi blew up some purple balloons and positioned some more party decorations across the table and the room.

'Tatsumi, can you help me hang up the sign?' Akame asked. 'Sure.' He replied. They went on each side and stood on their chairs, while they hung up the party article, so Sheele would immediately spot the huge sign wishing her another great year in her life, when she would enter the lively decorated living room. 'I'm outside for a bit. You can cut the cake in the meantime.' Tatsumi informed her, already with one foot outside. Akame nodded, while she laid the table for breakfast. Outside…

Tatsumi paid another visit to the graves of Sayo and Ieaysu. He kneeled down, sitting in front of them. 'Good…you're not trying to kill me.' The boy sighed relieved, smiling at her gravestone as if she was actually alive to witness this rare sight as of late. This was miserable. He knew it was, but it helped him. He could feel the spirits of Sayo and Ieaysu talk to him. He didn't know whether it was just his hallucination induced by the deep sadness their deaths cut into his scarred heart or them actually talking to him. And in this moment, he couldn't care less. Their presence was all that mattered to the assassin in this instant.

'I'm so sorry, guys…I couldn't protect you…I apologize a trillion times. Please forgive me, if you can.' Tatsumi whispered at the verge of tearing up, as he bowed down, hiding his face on the grassy ground. 'It's okay. We're happy that you found new friends to care about. They will protect you and you will protect them. But for now we have to move on ahead.' Sayo softly spoke, kneeling down to him, so she could gently lift him up to meet his face with hers.

'But don't you dare come back to us too early or else I'm gonna kick your ass back to life.' Ieaysu added. 'As if you ever had the strength to do that.' Tatsumi lightly giggled, as a small smile spread across his face. 'Sayo…is it okay, if I…move on?' He asked barely above a whisper, clinging on to her body, as if he was afraid to lose her a second time.

She pulled him close into a tight hug and pressed him against her chest. 'Of course, Tatsumi…I just want you to be happy. You're an assassin…You have to.' Sayo kindly assured him. 'See you later, you lovebirds.' Ieaysu giggled, fading away. 'Farewell, Tatsumi.' Sayo lovingly said, giving him a tender kiss on the forehead, before she left him forever.

'Farewell, my love…' Tatsumi whispered, stretching out his hands towards her shadow, but she was gone forever. Waiting for him to leave the hell he called his life and one day join her in heaven. The wind could be heard gently stroking the grass again. 'I will make sure, that nothing of what happened to you will happen to them.' The assassin vowed, tightly clutching his upper chest. 'Please watch over me.' Tatsumi silently pleaded, gazing up to the blue, mildly-clouded sky.

Suddenly he felt a soft hand on his right shoulder. This hand again. The first hand that pulled him out of this endlessly dark pit. 'Oh, it's you…' Tatsumi registered positively surprised, turning his undivided attention to that person. 'You were away for a while, so I started looking for you. I assumed you would be here.' She revealed. 'Wow, that long?!' He asked surprised.

'Tatsumi…You have to leave your past behind or you will die.' Akame lectured him as cold and devoid of emotion like when he was about to start his first mission as assassin with this blank yet silently menacing stare, which only she could do. 'And you think I can do it that easily? Pretend like they never existed?' Tatsumi responded on his knees with balled fists, his face seeming to twitch in anger, but it was sadness actually.

Whether he could or not did not matter. It was not his choice. It never was. He had to escape and leave this misery behind, if he didn't want to fall victim to it. And he knew Akame only had the best intentions. Namely his survival, even if the truth sounded harsh and just…inhuman. The truth never cared about one's feelings. Another silent moment passed between the two, while the breeze gently stroked her raven-black hair, making it flail effortlessly against the wind.

Before she could further scold him or say anything, he took the word again. 'But…You're right, Akame…' He added with a deep sigh, as he stood up to face her. 'This is why I came here. To…say goodbye…and…let go. I think I have finally left all of this pain behind. Now I can completely focus on our jobs as assassins.' The apprentice explained, taking another deep breath.

'This is good. He is not only growing as an assassin, but also as a person.' She thought. 'By the way…what did Zanku show you?' Tatsumi asked. 'I will explain that on another day. Let's say everyone in Night Raid is important to me, including you.' Akame answered with a subtle smile. 'Thank you. It means a lot to me.' Tatsumi silently returned, pulling Akame into a soft embrace. She could feel the relief and serenity inside him, because all the pent up sadness and pressure amassed inside him evaporated in this moment, while he clung onto her as if he feared for losing her as well.

Yes, he lost everything on his way, but he also won something. He might have lost Sayo and Ieaysu, but he won Akame and the others as his friends and comrades. He would make sure to protect what he still had, instead of grieving over all the things he lost.

'This was your gentle side, wasn't it? I'd be happy to see it more often.' Tatsumi thought peacefully, while he enjoyed the warmth Akame gave him by simply being there. Tatsumi was ready. To start a new chapter in his life. One that wouldn't be filled with pain, sadness and guilt. 'Thank you, Akame' He uttered silently barely above a whisper, while tightened the embrace around her.

They chose to remain like that for several tender moments, until Akame left the friendly hug. 'We should get back inside.' She suggested with a small smile. 'After you.' He giggled, smiling warmly. Back inside the base…

'Ohayou, everyone.' Tatsumi greeted happily. 'Morning.' The others returned. They returned. They were eating breakfast except for Leone, who was just tiredly sitting on the couch not uttering a single word. 'You and Akame make my day.' Lubbock praised, as he took another portion of noodles into his mouth. 'Does it taste that good?' Night Raid's cook asked. 'Yeah, it's delicious. Thank god you joined us. Otherwise Akame would still be sampling our food away.' The manga addict stated, while he passionately devoured his meal.

'Yeah, I gotta prevent her from doing that from time to time.' He admitted with a sweaty smile. 'I don't know, man. Don't get me wrong. She always cooked great for us, but ever since you're cooking with her, there's this little something, that little bit of flavor that makes every dish just…awesome.' Lubbock elaborated, as if he was a knowledgeable connoisseur when it came to food. 'I'm glad you like our ramen noodles with meat.' Tatsumi agreed happily.

'Ya know…you can't read them doujins on an empty stomach.' Lubbock joked with a perverted grin, causing his comrade to break out in laughter. 'Sheele should be up soon.' He added, while he sat down next to Leone. 'You know that you talked to me last night, do you?' Tatsumi whispered into her ear, struggling to prevent himself from laughing. Leone's face instantly became as red as a tomato, the embarrassment plastered all across her face.

'That didn't happen!' The flustered blonde loudly shouted through the living room, before she frantically covered her mouth. 'Oh, it did and it was hilarious.' He confirmed. 'What happened?' Lubbock asked. 'You peeped at her, while she took a bath.' Tatsumi lied, flashing the pervert a teasing grin.

'Awww…how did you know? Lubbock confessed in shock, his chin threatening to drop on the floor. Tatsumi turned to Leone and blinked at her with his left eye, signalizing her that their little chat would remain a secret. 'Pervert! We're gonna sort that out after Sheele's party, are we clear?' The female said in threatening voice. She was surprised. She feared that Tatsumi would capitalize on her little hangover, but fortunately for her he didn't.

She was glad, that he kept that a secret instead of constantly teasing her with it, which showed to her just how kind-hearted he actually was. He even carried her to her bed. 'He's soooo kind. He's gotta be the right one.' She thought relieved. 'You're a dead man, pervert.' Mine commented amused. 'What did you buy for Sheele?' Tatsumi asked.

'I bought her a very cute dress. And you?' The girl proudly revealed, raising her fist triumphantly. 'Akame told me, that Sheele likes reading, so I bought her a thriller.' He shrugged. 'She won't expect you to have a gift. She'll be happy.' Mine added. 'I hope so.' Tatsumi agreed with a thoughtful expression.

'Your left eye…' She mentioned. 'It's nothing.' He assured her, blinking towards her with the said eye. 'Akame said that you've eliminated Zanku almost single-handedly. I'm impressed.' His mentor stated, wearing a proud grin. 'Nah, she's exaggerating. I did some damage, but she actually finished him off.' Tatsumi replied slightly flustered, while he went through the back of his head with his left hand.

'But you are here and you are fine. Doesn't that speak for itself?' He questioned, as his smile widened. 'I guess it does…Let's say…I did most of the damage.' Tatsumi admitted. 'I see. How come you got that scar?' Bulat asked. 'A little gift from Zanku. His imperial arm had a crazy ability. He could predict your next moves, read thoughts and create illusions of certain people. Hell, he could even see through my clothes.' Tatsumi uncovered. 'Now that I think about it…This would be the perfect imperial arm for Lubbock.' He added with a bright grin, returning to tease the green-haired assassin to his heart's content.

Everyone except the mentioned pervert broke out in laughter. 'Awww…that's not fair. At least I would have put it to good use.' Lubbock complained in frustration, as he hid his face in his arms. Tatsumi liked his dirty humor, although he didn't agree with everything his comrade said. He just found it amusing, when Lubbock said something along those lines, simply because it was him. The way he did it was just beyond hilarious.

'Jokes aside. Your training helped me a lot against our target. I quickly analyzed his weakness and capitalized on it.' Tatsumi reviewed, raising his index finger if he was about to say something intelligent and highly professional, whilst in all actuality, he just wanted to kill Zanku with sheer brute and mindless force.

'How so?' His mentor asked intrigued and positively surprised. 'He was arrogant…and he was a psychopath after all. I got him in a blade lock. Then I figured, since he can predict my moves, he wouldn't mind if I let my guard down to let him scratch me. Then I quickly caught him off balance after he cut me and cut him across the chest and…let's say we had to make him a head shorter.' Tatsumi explained, consciously not mentioning the part in which he went completely berserk on his corpse and how he actually managed to fight Zanku.

While this idea was brilliant and one of the few ways to nullify the advantage granted by the weird eyeball the dead headhunter referred to as 'spectator', it was not Tatsumi being a resourceful mastermind in battle, it was merely his pure indifference towards his own safety. 'Man, the day you'll leave me in the dust will come sooner or later. And until that day, I cannot wait until you surpass me.' Bulat cheered impressed, raising his fist to Tatsumi, which he reciprocated with his own.

'But it's a long way to go…' Tatsumi replied. 'Seriously? You beheaded the headhunter?' Lubbock repeated, laughing a bit at the obvious irony. 'See it that way…He won't terrorize all the cute city women anymore.' He shrugged. 'You're right, I guess. At least more for me. You keep killing the bad guys and I comfort the adorable women of the capital. That's what I call teamwork, my friend.' Lubbock stated, causing Tatsumi to laugh again.

'Don't you think that these women rather need to be 'comforted', because they landed in bed with you?' Tatsumi countered with a deviously teasing grin. 'Ew, ouch! You need a pill, because that one hurt.' Mine commented. '1:0 for Tatsumi. You got destroyed, pervert.' Leone agreed. Lubbock admitted his defeat with a sigh. 'Just kidding. I'll kill all of the bad guys, if you want. Deal?' Tatsumi suggested, patting him on the left shoulder.

'Deal! I'll make sure to leave you some!' Lubbock announced excitedly, pushing his fist against Tatsumi's. 'Thanks, but I'm the type to focus on one woman only.' Tatsumi added sweatdroppingly. Lubbock simply shrugged, as if this wasn't something completely normal. 'Morning everyone.' Najenda greeted. 'Boss.' Mine registered surprised. 'I'd like to brief you.' The boss announced, as Akame entered the living room. 'First of all, good job against Zanku. We have his imperial arm, so let's see if you can equip it, Tatsumi.' Najenda offered, since he was the only Night Raid member without imperial arm.

'I doubt it will bond with me…' He argued, eyeing the small, green eyeball. 'Just try.' She encouraged him, handing it over to him. He put the weird looking eyeball on his forehead. 'Akame…I'll try to read your thoughts.' Tatsumi announced. 'What do you see?' She asked fairly interested. 'I…you think: I want to eat meat tonight!' He guessed. 'That's amazing!' Akame said highly impressed. 'He hasn't even activated the damn thing…' Mine grunted.

'Oh, my bad…' He registered, activating the imperial arm. 'Ngh…I have a strong headache all of a sudden. It's rejecting me.' Tatsumi groaned in pain, taking it off out of reflex. He gave it back to his boss. 'I'll send it to the revolutionary headquarters, so they can further analyze it.' Najenda sighed.

'By the way, here's a book with all imperial arms, though some entries are clearly more detailed than others. Learn them by heart.' Najenda ordered. 'If you had to pick on…Which do you think is the strongest?' He asked, as if he sought validation. 'There are a handful of insanely strong imperial arms, but if I had to choose one, then it would be the one that controls ice. Fortunately for us, she's conquering the North at the moment.' Najenda answered, small remnants of fear in her voice.

Tatsumi quickly went through the book, skipping some entries until he spotted an imperial arm, which caught his attention. He widened his eyes in shock, as he read through the almost non-existent entry. And scary enough, he felt deeply attached to it, bound to it. As if the weapon was calling him, begging him to wield it, yet at the same time mocking and taunting him.

'You mean General Esdeath? Even she would need two years to subdue the Northern tribe.' Lubbock added, scared already by the mention of her name. 'Anyways, I think Akame's is the strongest.' Tatsumi stated calmly, causing her to become slightly red. 'I mean, all she has to do, is to cut that little snowflake once and we're good to go.' He explained bluntly, as beautifully easy as the notion of this idea sounded, it would surely be not that easy.

'I wouldn't call her a snowflake. She's highly sadistic and enjoys war, as well as the most gruesome of torture. She's a walking genocide.' Najenda reminisced. 'We'll have to kill her eventually sooner or later.' Bulat calmly added. 'True.' Mine agreed. 'You'll be training with Sheele today, since it's her birthday today.' The leader revealed with a light chuckle.

'She's got lucky, but I got dibs on him next.' Leone quickly claimed, raining her right arm, as if she was at an auction, the newest Night Raid assassin being the object of interest. 'Why is everyone keen on training me?' Tatsumi thought in suspicion. 'You'll be absolving a curriculum exercise, but given your physical condition you should be able to do it. At night, you'll eliminate Zanku's accomplice. He was last seen running around in the older districts, where Sheele lived most of her life. She may know where to find him and how to navigate there.' The boss ordered, while she lit up another cigarette.

'What do we know about him?' The assassin inquired. 'Worked alongside Zanku. Our spies found out, that he's pretty small. Also he has an extremely hunched back and two different eye colors. You'd recognize this ugly face even 100 miles away.'She described, before she puffed out another cloud of smoke. 'Ok, thanks boss. I'll wake up Sheele and drag her away from the party.' Tatsumi declared. At Sheele's room…

'Come in.' The purple dressed woman said. 'Good morning. Happy birthday, Sheele.' Tatsumi congratulated with a radiant smile. 'No, today is Leone's birthday. I also bought her a gift.' Sheele denied, showing off a highly expensive bottle of high-quality sake, which was meant for the busty alcoholic. 'No, today is your birthday.' He insisted, unable to hold back a light giggle.

'Hold up! I got to check that.' Sheele said, while she quickly went through her organizer. 'You're right…My bad…' She came to realize, turning into a cute chibi version of herself, as a big drop of sweat ran down her head. 'Oh, Sheele…' Tatsumi thought, giving her a few gentle headpats.

'Anyways…I'll be training under you today. We're going to do some sort of duty exercise and tonight we'll eliminate Zanku's accomplice.' He added. 'Then let's go.' Sheele ordered with a light smirk. 4 hours later…

His trials ranged from wearing and swimming in heavy and bulky armor, to quickly climbing up tall trees, high intensity fitness, lifting weights, running parkour routes within a set amount of time, running several distances up to 1 km and other athletic tasks that the average human just has no chance of completing without collapsing twice or more times.

'Congrats. You've successfully absolved the assassin duty training.' Sheele announced with a soft and incredibly heart-warming grin. 'Sweet! How did I perform?' Tatsumi asked in short breaths. 'Alright…in the department 'speed' you're only second to Akame…' She answered. 'Of course she is faster.' He giggled. He remembered their training run today and Akame was still faster than him and probably she didn't give it her all, but…the gap is slowly, but surely closing between them.

'In physical strength only Bulat is better than you, in accuracy Mine is still quite ahead of you and in parkour, only Akame and Leone beat you. All in all you're very well-versed, Tatsumi. Your performance was quite respectable.' She revealed fairly satisfied. 'Best at nothing, huh…' Tatsumi mumbled, turning his back to her. 'Tell me…was there anything I was the best at?' He demanded, not moving a single inch.

'Actually...I don't think so…or…Oh! Yes! You are the best in the category 'endurance'.' Sheele added with a bright and uplifting smile. 'I see…' Tatsumi said, cracking a small smile. 'So…what do you think I should work on?' The boy asked with curious eyes. 'What do you think?' She replied with a question. 'Hm…I think…I definitely need more training in parkour. I fell off too many times or tripped. I…I should work on everything to be honest. I'm still the weakest Night Raid member by far.' He admitted, scooping his hands over his head.

'You're very honest to yourself. And that's good, but you're running into the danger of making yourself smaller than you are. Yes, you're weaker than most of us right now, but if you continue to train like this, you'll soon be as strong as we are, maybe even stronger. Just give it some time and don't worry so much. Panic has never made anyone stronger.' Sheele tried to motivate him with this warm and uplifting smile again.

'What makes you think that I have this time? What makes you think I won't fail?' Tatsumi objected. 'You will fail. You will fail often. You will fail again and again, but through failure you learn and grow stronger. I have seen your determination. This is also something you're the best at. This is why I'm convinced you won't fail and become a great assassin.' Sheele explained, staring him right in the eyes with this kind smile, penetrating his rather desperate expression.

'Arigatou gozaimasu…' Tatsumi muttered deeply touched by her words. He gave her a short bow, before he slumped down next to her. 'I need a break…and a bath…' He added completely exhausted. 'May I ask you something?' Tatsumi questioned. 'Of course.' She returned. 'I always wonder why you don't do any chores. For example, Akame and I cook.' He asked. 'That's a long story…' Sheele started, putting her index finger on her right cheek in order to think.

'I tried cooking with Akame, but I burned the meat…' Sheele remembered. 'Ooof, Akame can get angry, if you burn the meat.' The cook warned her way too late. 'I tried laundry, but I washed Mine with the clothes. I tried cleaning, but I only caused more work for Bulat. I tried buying groceries with Leone, but I switched up the sugar with salt. So we decided that I can focus on training new recruits like you.' Sheele explained with a soft grin.

'A clumsy assassin?!' He thought in disbelief. 'How did you end up in this line of work then?' Tatsumi instantly blurted out, not trying to sound rude. 'I guess, I'll start from the beginning, right…' She sighed.

'I grew up in the older district of the capital and I always messed up. I couldn't take pride in a single thing I did. There was nothing I was good at. People always looked down on me and told me I had a screw loose. I had no friends and fell into depression. Then I met a girl, who didn't care about me messing up and viewed me for who I am. She was the only ray of happiness in my life…

But one day, we met up at my house and then her ex-boyfriend stood in the door. He was extremely drunk and enraged. He started choking her and my initial thought was to protect her, so I grabbed the kitchen knife and killed him. She was shaking heavily, but my head was surprisingly clear. The events on that evening were declared as 'self-defense'.

It turned out that he was a member of a gang. The following day his gang members sought me out and told me they killed my family and they would do the same with me, but I murdered them with ease. Then I realized something…I had a screw loose. I'm good at…killing. If I kill all the bad people, I could make the world a better place, thus being useful. Then the revolutionaries scouted me out and I joined Night Raid.' Sheele reminisced, ending her explanation with her bright smile again.

'I'm sorry…it must have been hard on you losing your parents.' Tatsumi apologized saddened. 'At first, but I got over it eventually. Your entry into Night Raid was rather impressive to say the least. You did what assassins do best. Killing.' The purple assassin stated with a thoughtful expression. 'I killed them, because they killed my friends…Blood for blood.' Tatsumi replied, trying to hide the sinister and emotionless, yet secretly hurt undertone in his voice.

Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?' Sheele asked with a comforting and supportive gaze. She was sadly mistaken. This slaughter wasn't just a plain and simple assassination. It was a massacre. Vengeance in its cruelest ways. 'No…they're just one of many countless tragedies…' He was forced to admit to himself. It was exhausting. Consuming. 'No, I'm fine…really. I got over it.' Tatsumi denied, as he scratched the right half of his neck again, leaving subtle red marks on it.

Despite her being absent-minded most of the time, she instantly picked up on the slight changes of his facial expressions and in his voice. 'Tatsumi, tell me if I can be useful to you and help you…' Sheele offered. 'You are too kind, but it's ok. I moved on. You guys are my present and future. The past is over. You're already useful to us, if you show us your smile every day.' He refused with a soft smile.

She intently stared at him, her eyes widened in surprise. 'Thanks. I'll keep it in mind.' She responded, smiling warm and bright as the summer sun. 'Oh no! I lost my glasses. I'm practically blind without them.' Sheele whined desperate on all fours. 'There we go.' He said calmly, setting her glasses back on her face. 'Thank you.' Sheele sighed after she regained her eyesight.

'How about we go back inside and greet the others?' Tatsumi suggested happily, helping her to stand up. 'Sounds good.' The birthday child agreed. 'It's going to be a surprise…' He hummed in his mind. Back inside the base with the others…

'Happy birthday!' Everyone chanted in unison, as Sheele entered the mansion-like hideout. 'Thank you, guys.' She said heavily surprised. 'We also have gifts for you.' Tatsumi chuckled, while he guided her to her place. 'Oh, really? I didn't expect you to have a gift for me too.' Sheele stated positively surprised. After everyone sat down around the dining table, Leone started off by giving the birthday child a bottle of sake.

'It's one of the best around here. Better enjoy that one, but I also wouldn't be opposed to sharing it with you…' The alcoholic boasted, raising her fist in triumph. 'I actually don't drink, but I'm considering it now.' Sheele responded with a sweaty and forced smile. 'Aw. Come here.' Leone said, snuggling close to Sheele like a cat. Next was Lubbock.

He handed her a magazine with women only dressed in lascivious lingerie. 'Since you like reading, I thought I'll buy you some 'enjoyable' literature.' Lubbock explained, flashing her an incredibly dirty grin, as he laid his right arm around her shoulders. 'Hahaha…' She forced herself to laugh. 'Typical of Lubbock. Pervert through and through.' Tatsumi whispered into Akame's ear, causing her to let a light giggle.

Night Raid's boss chose to present her gift next. It was a small box with Najenda's favorite cigarette brand, which she gently placed into her hands. 'That's too kind of you, boss. I actually don't smoke…but I'll consider it.' Sheele replied in grateful and polite manner, giving her a boss a brief hug. And she was kind of grateful, even though these gifts weren't exactly things she needed. 'They don't damage your lungs! That's just a lie.' The boss attempted to convince her by debunking one of the biggest reasons for most people, who don't want to smoke, if it wasn't already for the money.

Bulat was next. He had a small, purple and beautifully decorated glass bottle in his right hand. A perfume. 'Thanks a lot. I wanted that scent for a while now.' Sheele said, leaning in for a short and friendly hug after they carefully moved the perfume somewhere, where it was not in danger of shattering. 'Anything for you.' The ex-soldier replied with a small grin.

Akame gave her the beauty products, which Tatsumi bought in her place. 'Is this the lotion you use for your skin?' Sheele asked, while she eyed the white bottle in her hand. Akame nodded with a small smile. 'Thank you. I'll give you a review.' She added, pulling Akame in for a warm and friendly embrace.

Mine went towards Sheele and presented her gift in all its glory, which was a long, beautiful, purple dress. It was several shades darker than her rather traditional light-purple qipao, but it fit the young woman perfectly, as if it was specifically tailored to her. 'How do you like it?' Mine asked with her hands tightly folded together. 'It's beautiful. Thank you so much, Mine.' Sheele replied happily, embracing her best friend on this earth with all her love.

Only Tatsumi remained, who hid his gift behind his back. 'So…uhm…Honestly, I took the same approach as Lubbock…' He admitted, crunching together slightly as if something embarrassing happened for a little comedic effect, making the whole assassin guild laugh. 'But don't worry. It's not a doujin.' He assured her, before he handed over his birthday present.

'That's the one I've wanted for sooooo long now! Thank you so much.' Sheele registered breathless, while she instantly rose up from her chair, overwhelming Tatsumi with a deep embrace. 'I'm glad I could make you happy…' He thought. 'Looks like we have a winner.' Leone stated amused at the sight of Sheele expressing her gratitude by cuddling close to Tatsumi to the point that he might suffocate.

'We also have cake. Let the festive begin.' Najenda announced. The assassins sat around the table, feasting upon the delicious blueberry-chocolate cake and talking with their comrades. Tatsumi sat down between Akame and Sheele. He thoroughly enjoyed the party, since he got to know his new friends better. What they liked and disliked, their hobbies and dreams, as well as their future plans.

Time has lost its meaning to him. He forgot everything. His troubles. His burden. For once he felt truly happy again. A feeling he has long forgotten. 'I want to say something…' Tatsumi took the word, refilling everyone's sake cups. 'I know we're assassins, but…I view you as my friends and I'd be happy if I could be part of this little family. You give me something that I've long forgotten: happiness.' He announced with a bright and contagious smile like the others have not seen it on him before, but they could tell it came from the bottom of his heart, as he rose his cup.

They exchanged the cups with each other and drank sake out of each other's cup to mark their friendship. He found this feeling that he had long forgotten. This warm sensation, which slowly melted away the frozen tundra that was his heart for over a decade. He felt…that he finally belonged somewhere. A place and people he could refer to as 'home' again.

He turned his attention to Akame, who was rather quiet during the whole festivity. 'Are you enjoying the party?' Tatsumi asked, leaning a bit closer towards her. 'Yes. Everyone is so happy.' She answered. 'Would you like to swap your sake cup with me?' Tatsumi questioned with his cute signature grin. 'Sure.' Akame replied, as a small smile appeared on her beautiful face.

They exchanged their cups and gulped the sake down simultaneously. 'Thank you, Akame.' He thought happily, staring at her for several moments, before he came back to earth. 'Would you like to have a piece of cake?' He asked with red cheeks. 'Thanks.' Akame returned. He reached over and cut off a piece from the delicious masterpiece of a cake. 'Here.' Tatsumi said, perfectly placing it in front of her with a fork neatly placed next to it.

'Anyone else while I'm at it?' He asked everyone. 'Yeah, sure.' The round collectively responded. 'Let's play a card game.' Lubbock suggested, pulling out a deck of cards from his left sleeve. 'Sure, why not?' Was the collective answer. 'It works like this. We distribute the cards to each other. There will be one joker. The one who has the joker at the end lost the game. Your goal is to empty your hand as soon as possible by assembling pairs. If you have a pair, you discard the corresponding cards. But let's put a twist on it. The one who has the joker at the end is the actual winner. So your goal is actually to keep the joker until the end.

Every turn the turn player can take a card out of the player next to him. For example it's Tatsumi's turn. He takes out a random card of Akame's hand. Let's say he gets a heart ace from her. He then gets a pair with the heart ace and a heart ten. He discards the cards face-up and then it's Sheele's turn to take a card out of his hand and so on and so forth. Everything clear so far?' Lubbock explained, while he dealt the cards to every Night Raid member.

He always tried to deduce who could have the joker in hand by locating even the faintest traces of reaction like Bulat taught him to always stay observant in fights. And it mostly worked. Except for Akame. She showed no emotion. She was in control of them under any given circumstance. He also tried counting cards, since more and more cards where discarded each turn, so he could figure out which cards were still in the game and thus have an idea what his friends could have in their hands.

'Oh…I'm done.' Sheele registered surprised. 'Wow…You finished fast.' Lubbock pointed out. 'That's what she said to you.' Tatsumi threw in with a teasing smirk, causing everybody to break out in laughter. 'You know…Ugh, I'll kick your ass one day.' The self-proclaimed womanizer grunted. 'Finished.' Bulat stated, casually leaning back against the chair, while he surveyed the card battle with interest. 'The joker?!' Tatsumi thought, as he took the card out of Akame's hand.

'Aw…' Lubbock sighed after he discarded his last couple of cards. 'I'm out.' Najenda declared before she lighted up another cigarette. 'Alright, I'm done.' Mine pouted. Only Akame, Tatsumi and Leone were left in this game. Leone took a nine of spades out of his hand and laid dropped her cards. 'Ahhh, I'm outta here.' She purred before she gulped down some more sake. 'Only the two us, huh?' Tatsumi commented the current game state. 'Indeed.' Akame confirmed as monotone as a stone.

Turns passed back and forth, as they took cards out of each other's hands. She took her time to carefully choose the card she would take out of his hand. 'She took the joker…' Tatsumi thought, fearing that this game will come to a close with him not as the winner. 'Come on!' He thought in hopes of regaining the win condition of this game.

He took an ace of hearts out of her hand and eventually he as well had no hand, while Akame was left standing with the joker. 'I guess…I've lost…' He sighed, conceding defeat. 'But it was fun nonetheless.' Tatsumi giggled, gathering together all the cards so Lubbock could have them back.

'Then I'd say Tatsumi and I continue with our job.' Sheele informed the others, ready to take him with her. He briefly blinked an eye at Leone to let her know what she had to do. 'Pervert! Accompany me outside.' She commanded in a threatening demeanor, causing Lubbock to let out a terrified gulp. At the end of the day he got away with 'only' several bruises and a big blue mark around his right eye.

Eventually everyone proceeded to clean up the living room from the remainders of the party. In Sheele's room…

'Lie down on my bed and read your new book.' She happily named as next measure of training. 'I don't want to doubt your methods, but there's no physical effort involved.' Tatsumi responded confused. 'You're training way too much. Relax yourself for once. Besides, recovery is almost as important as training for your physical condition.' She reasoned, a gentle smile crossing her lips.

'You're too kind, Sheele.' Tatsumi replied, giving her a short and polite bow before he did as she ordered. He read through the book, seeing all kinds of stuff. From anorganic to organic, from A to Z. A light smirk formed on his face, as he read the entry of Akame's imperial arm 'Murasame'. He consciously avoided looking up the weapon, which caught his attention immediately this morning.

After he finished investigating the piece of literature closely, he put it aside letting out a deep and disappointed sigh, burying his face in her pillow. She spotted the obvious display of dismay instantly, so she decided to lift his spirits. 'Hey, how time flies by. It's already evening. We should go out and finish the job.' She offered, softly seizing his left hand, providing it with warmth.

'It's about time we go to work, I guess…' He agreed with a nod. 'What are your abilities by the way?' Tatsumi asked, as he sat up on her bed. 'I use a sword like you and Akame. I can cast an ability that blinds enemies for a while.' She revealed with her left index finger on her cheek again. 'I have a plan.' The new Night Raid assassin stated, quickly unsheathing his hidden blades. In the older district of the capital…

The streets of the old, traditional district were barely illuminated by several paper lanterns. Most buildings had a traditional, Japanese design, yet all in all the houses looked pretty clean and fancy. The assassins navigated trough the rooftops in search for their target. 'Is this where you've grown up?' Tatsumi asked, as they landed on another roof.

'Yes. My house should be right here.' She answered, pointing to the rather flat building. 'It looks nice here. I love the architecture. I could imagine living here.' The teen stated, admiring the fancy buildings and the location as a whole. Sheele lightly giggled. 'Actually…it's not that nice to live here…' She uncovered, a small frown appearing in her visage. 'Why?' Tatsumi questioned.

'There's a lot of gang criminality.' Sheele informed him, while she hugged herself. 'And the government can't suppress them?' He deduced from her facial expressions. The rhetorical question was answered by a brief nod. 'More often than not, these gangs are trying to collaborate with the government to get their profit.' She added.

'If you want, I could help you get rid of them.' Tatsumi offered. 'You would do that?' She asked with wide eyes. 'Sure. We're friends after all.' He affirmed with a gentle smile. 'Thank you.' Sheele returned happily, while they started to jump from roof to roof again. They searched the streets for their target which they should be able to recognize on sight. 'Oh, look. There he is.' Sheele pointed out, as their target entered his apartment. 'You remember the plan?' Tatsumi asked, focused on the balcony of the target's house.

'So all I need to do is to storm in, kill some guards, if there are any, activate 'Extase' and then you do your thing?' She formulated untypically clear-minded and concise. 'Exactly. That's the plan.' He confirmed under the cover of his black hood. 'Alright.' The woman said, hopping down from the building, gracefully landing on her two feet.

The scissor sword wielder approached the entry of the two-story building, immediately slaying the two guards with a single swing of her imperial arm, cutting them in half. She continued the assault by slicing the door open, further killing off guards. In the meantime Tatsumi snuck into the house through the door of the balcony. He crouched on the wooden bars, which held the roof together.

He surveyed the action from above. The soon dead man was getting nervous and anxious, about to flee as drawn out screams of death echoed through the whole mansion. 'She swings that scissor like it's nothing.' Tatsumi registered, admiring the display of her graceful and fluid fighting style. 'You could never assume that she's clumsy when you see her that way. Sheele is really good at killing.' He thought as he waited for her signal to strike.

'He tries to run off. Better let Tatsumi finish it.' Sheele reasoned, while she severed the chest from another body. 'Extase!' She screamed. Her scissor sword began to glow in a bright, light-purple light, which grew brighter and brighter, stunning everyone around her, including their target.

Tatsumi was out of range to be blinded, so he was able to proceed with eliminating the target. 'Messatsu.' He mumbled, jumping down from the structure, thrusting his hidden blades into the victim and a guard next to him. He quickly sheathed them and pulled out his sword. He went threw out his rope dart and impaled the body guard behind Sheele, while he beheaded another hostile on his right side.

They hacked and slashed through their remaining opposition within mere seconds, until the last scream of death quieted down in the open hall. 'Good work, Sheele. Mission is…' He unknowingly started. 'Tatsumi! Dodge!' Sheele shouted at him, swinging her ginormous scissor blade sideways, cutting the last guard clean in half.

'…complete.' She uttered, fulfilling his statement from a moment earlier in her untypically calm and collected demeanor. 'Thanks. I owe you one.' Tatsumi added after he got up from his knees and caught his breath. 'I'd say we go back. It's been a long day after all.' Sheele suggested, while slung 'Extase' on her back again. 'Yeah, let's go back home.' He agreed, following up behind her. Back at the base…

They were only a few steps away from the entry of their home. Tatsumi passed the graves of his fallen friends, being reminded of the deep disappointment he suffered today. He wanted to wait, until Sheele would be inside, so he could be alone once again in order to be able to deal with the more than unwanted situation. He stood on the spot, as if he was being restrained by chains, earning a puzzled look from his comrade.

'Is something wrong?' She questioned concerned. 'Everything's fine. Just getting some fresh air. Inform the others about the mission, please. I had a great time with you today. Let's do this more often. Have a good night.' Tatsumi pleaded very rushed with a glaringly obvious, painful smile, while he scratched the right half of his neck, leaving it with clearly visible wounds.

'Then don't train as obsessively. I had a lot of fun too. The book you gave me is soooo good.' Sheele returned, giving him an innocent and bright smile that could illuminate the darkness of any night with its radiant kindness, yet she could easily recognize the suppressed and screaming sadness in his eyes.

As if the lower half of his face was covered by an artificially drawn smile held in front of it, while the upper half was uncovered, his eyes so desperate and sad, as he's secretly crying out his silenced sorrow without a single tear and without a single noise.

'Something is wrong.' She could feel it, as his false smile sucked up, devoured hers, making it fade into a worried expression. She decided to walk towards the door, until he would think that she's gone, but in reality, she would follow him. Tatsumi grabbed his temples and dug his short nails into them, as he stood there in front of their graves. 'I need to stay strong…I promised her.' He reprimanded himself, while his nails sunk even deeper into his skin.

'Am I destined to be lonely?' He questioned silently, as he gazed up to the full-white moon and the countless stars that kept him company, as if he expected an actual answer. Yet, as always there is dead silence. 'Yes…' He muttered reflexively, while he was being dragged down again on all fours by the weight of those who have passed in front of his very own eyes, in his very own arms and have been buried by his very own hands.

'Why?' He thought. Sheele approached him, ready to help him in any way she could. Tatsumi immediately jumped up from the ground at the instant he perceived Sheele by his side. He tried to hide his emotions by throwing over his head to cover his face in darkness, but she prevented him from doing so by grabbing his left arm, which attempted to rapidly pull up the numbing mask, leaving him defenseless. 'Sheele?! Why?! Please, do as I said.' Tatsumi ordered in hopes of making her leave.

'No! You can't drown your emotions forever.' She resisted, intently staring into his emerald-green eyes, while she had a firm grip on his arm. 'I don't have any weakening emotions.' Tatsumi stated, averting his gaze from her, his voice devoid of emotion, except for a few cracks of sadness in it. 'All I know is pain, rage and hatred.' Tatsumi thought. 'Why did you fall on the ground then?' Sheele asked.

'I tripped…' He lied, knowing that she wouldn't believe him. He didn't feel like lying anymore. It tired him out. Consumed him. 'I…to be honest…I just hoped I could bring them back…somehow, someway…I mean there are all these imperial arms, that can do all this crazy stuff, but there's nothing that lets me kiss her one more time. I hoped so badly, but was so naïve…They are gone forever.' Tatsumi admitted at the verge of breaking down, as he sunk down on his knees again. Down in this endlessly dark pit of utter gloom and despair.

'I thought I moved on. I thought I could forget them…Why? Why do I have to be so weak?' Tatsumi asked, turning his face to her, while his whole body was shaking. Sheele did the unexpected. She kneeled down to him and embraced her grieving friend, letting him collapse on her lap.

'Sheele…' He muttered surprised. 'It's ok. Let go. Go in there and cry as much as you can.' Sheele said with a soft and soothing voice. 'But…' He stammered. 'No one will know. There's nothing wrong with being sad at times.' Sheele assured him. His tear bags failed him. No tear came. He wasn't capable of crying anymore. He never was. He never could. He never did. 'I'm sorry, Sheele…I didn't mean to waste your time.' Tatsumi apologized.

It's okay. Just relax, please.' Sheele silenced him, tightening the embrace around the fragile boy. He felt weak and worthless. This feeling made him helpless. He witnessed it so often and he absolutely despised it, hated it almost as much as himself. But now…he felt safe. As if a cloak shielded him from all the agony and self-loathing he threatened to fall victim to again like he has countless times in his miserable life. Burning over and over and over again. It was hell. It has always been. It always will.

Tatsumi laid in her own lap. Defeated. By his own weakness. 'I promised Akame that I'd be strong…' He thought disappointed. 'What made you shatter, Tatsumi?' She asked herself, as she gently went through his hair. Much like a mother would soothe her child, when it has been wounded. 'Sheele…' He spoke up barely audible. 'Hm?' She asked, coming closer to his face.

'Sometimes…I wish I was like you. Being able to simply forget my memories. Everything. Just like that…' He stated. 'Our memories are part of our personality. They make us the people we are.' Sheele explained. 'But…I hate my memories. There are so many memories I wish I never had. If I could retrace every wrong move that I made, I would. More than sometimes…I would just wish…for it all to end…' Tatsumi confessed, the agony, sadness and suffering of a decade in his untypically fragile voice.

These rejected and hated memories truly shaped him into the monster he viewed himself as. This scarred monster…This scarred monster, which was solely capable of destruction and death. This scarred monster that would find strength in the hatred of his past and towards himself, just so he could will himself to live another day for the sake of vengeance. This scarred monster that was just a boy. This scarred monster that was Tatsumi…

'Don't worry, Tatsumi. You're with us now. We'll make positive memories together.' Sheele assured him, pulling him close, providing him with warmth and something he has barely felt in his entire existence. Comfort. 'Why would you want to have memories with someone like me?' He questioned. 'Because you're a part of us. Because we're friends.' Sheele answered with a radiant smile. He stared at her with wide eyes, before he buried himself into her embrace again. 'Thanks…I don't deserve you guys.' He muttered utterly powerless. Suddenly she could feel something wet against her chest. Something warm. He was actually crying. A single tear escaped his eyes.

His thoughts were running wild. He tried to hold them off, so he could rest a little longer. He fell asleep for a while in her lap, but awoke eventually. Sheele didn't stop hugging him, giving him warmth and comfort. For once there was silence. For once this voice, which ordered him like a slave to kill, to loathe, to burn was completely silenced. He wanted to stay with Sheele, but he also didn't want to hold her up, so he decided to go to his room.

'Thank you, Sheele for caring about someone as troublesome as me.' Tatsumi said, deeply hugging her. 'No…I have to thank you. Thanks to you…I could be useful.' She thought serene. 'I don't see a problem with it.' Sheele returned with this pure and heart-warming smile, while she reciprocated the hug. 'Uhm…I'm going into my room. I can leave a note for the boss that we got the job done.' He added. 'Ok, I'm also heading to bed now.' She agreed.

'May I ask you something?' Tatsumi asked. 'Of course.' She said. 'You don't really consider to start with drinking and smoking, do you?' He questioned. 'Of course not.' Sheele replied with a light laugh. 'Thank god. Now I'm relieved.' Tatsumi laughed. 'Hahaha…Let's go inside.' She giggled, while she opened the door. 'Tatsumi…' She started. 'Huh?' He looked at her curiously.

'If you feel like this again, you can always come to me. I'll be there for you.' Sheele offered with a kind smile. 'Thanks, I appreciate it.' He nodded, hugging her again. Inside the base…

A small light was still glowing in the cleaned up living room. It was occupied by the Murasame-wielder, who also had a plate with evilbird drumsticks on the table next to her. 'I'm calling it a day. I'm going to bed.' Sheele yawned. 'Good night, Sheele.' Akame said, shortly looking towards her, before she turned all of her attention to her katana. 'Have a good night, Sheele.' Tatsumi added with a soft smile.

'Good night, guys.' She said, before letting out another yawn. 'Playing with death, I see.' He joked, as he sat down next to her. 'My life is in serious danger.' Akame stated completely focused on her deadly weapon and in fact she was right. 'You were away for quite some time. Did everything go as planned?' She pointed out, while she cleansed the sword from any remaining blood stains. 'We had a bit of trouble finding the target, but other than that, everything else went smooth. We had a chat outside for a while.' He answered.

'Done.' Akame announced, as she resheathed 'Murasame', letting out a relieved sigh. 'How is the wound on your eye doing?' She asked with a caring gaze. 'Should be gone soon.' He replied. Akame leaned against Tatsumi's shoulder. 'What did you do while I was gone?' Tatsumi asked, casually leaning against the sofa. 'Getting meat and cooking.' She yawned, before she gorged down the last one of her drumsticks. 'Do you always eat meat?' He wondered. The glutton nodded.

'That can't be healthy.' Tatsumi giggled. The room fell silent again. None of the assassins uttered a word, until Akame's snore broke the silence. Unfortunately for him, it was loud enough to wake him from his surprisingly peaceful sleep. 'We fell asleep…' He recognized. He cautiously stood up, not to wake her.

He picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. 'She looks so peaceful.' Tatsumi thought happily, while he covered her with a blanket. The young man quietly closed the door and entered his room. 'Night Raid is my new home. And I will keep them safe. At all cost.' He thought with renewed resolve, before he let darkness take over again…

23


	6. Chapter 6

6

Kill the tension

(A/N: Guess who's back, back again. This looks like a job of me, so everybody just follow me, cuz we need a little controversy, cuz it feels so empty without me xD. Here's chapter 6 as promised. Sorry for the wait, law Uni is exhausting. I'm still very busy. Quick reminder as well: the following chapters will be rather casual in tone to change it up a bit and also get off the whole dark stuff. So you won't sue me for making you depressed. Even though you agreed to it by in the beginning by reading it xD.

Anyway, enough of me, I hope you enjoy the chapter and thank you for staying with me, my dear readers.^^)

Akame awoke, finding herself in her bedroom. The last thing she could remember was falling asleep next to Tatsumi. 'Tatsumi carried me to bed.' She recalled, while her cheeks heated up. 'I should wake him up, so we can start training.' She strategized, as she got herself dressed. Once she was done with her morning routine, she headed to his room and knocked on the door.

'He wears this subtle, yet soft and gentle smile, whenever he sees me at this early time.' Akame registered, a tender warmth stirring up inside her that she never felt before in her life. 'Good morning, Akame.' Tatsumi greeted her with this irresistibly cute smile, only further increasing this unfamiliar warmth she felt inside herself. 'Good morning, Tatsumi.' She returned and cleared her throat.

'Thank you for carrying me to my bedroom last night.' She added with a small smile. 'No problem. You looked so peaceful.' He hummed happily. 'Really?' She asked, as her cheeks reddened considerably. 'Yeah, and the couch isn't a particularly comfortable thing to sleep on.' Tatsumi added, going through the back of his head. 'Anyway, let's go training, shall we?' The student proposed, eager for more wisdom and practice in the art of killing. At the training grounds…

They did the usual stuff, dueling included. After they have finished and took a shower, they were about to make breakfast as always. They found their leader signing several documents for the revolutionary army. 'Every time we fight against each other, you are getting better.' Akame complimented as a matter of fact.

The first time when they dueled and trained together, she could clearly see it in his eyes, even though he tried his best to hide it. This lifeless and cold gaze, that reminded her so much of her own.

'Thanks.' Tatsumi blushed. 'Good morning, you two. It's great to see you work hard. I wish the others would work half as hard.' Najenda greeted casually, as she let out a cloud of smoke. 'Morning, boss. I want to become as strong as I can. And besides…I have a great teacher.' He replied, turning to face Akame with a gentle and cute smile, causing her cheeks to redden.

'Any contracts today?' Tatsumi asked. 'Not at the moment, because Esdeath already conquered the North and the revolutionary army wants to regroup in response. I'll let you know, if there are any.' She informed her assassin. 'That snowflake already conquered the North…' Tatsumi repeated in disbelief. In the Northern region…

Snow covered up thousands of ravaged corpses and snowstorms raged across the deserted, icy wasteland. A light-blue haired woman in her 20s, dressed in a beige dominatrix outfit, sat in her chair, holding a leash with a naked man attached to it, who obediently licked her right boot.

'He was the best they had…' She sighed, struggling to keep her eyes open, while she held the left part of her in her hand with a slumped posture. She kicked him in the face, finishing him off for the dog, which was once a man. 'General! You are being summoned to the capital on behalf of the emperor.' A high-ranking soldier of her informed her, as he saluted to her.

'Well…I guess, I shall return to the good, old capital then.' Esdeath sighed, overlooking the disastrous, dystopic sight in front of her. The atrocity pleased her senses. The war-hungry general wondered what kind of task her superior would bestow upon her. Nonetheless the prospect of war got her excited and looking forward to her next assignment. Back with Night Raid…

'Have you ever seen Esdeath in action?' Tatsumi questioned with wide eyes. 'Yes. My eye and the mechanical arm is the result of our fight…' The former general answered, as she slowly traced over the bulky green piece of metal. 'Is she really as strong as the rumors say?' He asked, his hand running up his left cheek.

'She's the empire's strongest.' Najenda replied definitively, causing the room to fall ominously silent, before she lit another cigarette. 'Today, you'll be training with Leone.' She added after several, long moments.' Akame turned around and left Tatsumi on the spot. 'Are you going into the kitchen?' He turned to her. The question was quickly answered by a nod.

'Do you want help?' He offered with that gentle and cute grin of his. 'Sure, come with me.' Akame responded, inviting him into the kitchen. 'What should we put on the table? Do you have any wishes?' Tatsumi questioned, eyeing her with an attentive gaze. 'Meat.' She replied bluntly in typical Akame-fashion, her gaze akin to a predator, while the water started gathering in her mouth.

'That was to be expected.' He giggled. 'How about fried duck with ramen noodles and some vegetables?' Tatsumi suggested, knowing it will be to his comrade's liking. 'Sounds good.' She agreed, wasting no time to start the preparations for the meal. A bit later…

'Tatsumi, you are making one portion too much.' She pointed out. 'No, because knowing you, you'll still be hungry after the first plate, so I make you seconds.' He resolved, smiling brightly at her. Stars immediately flashed up in her eyes and small drops of water escaped her mouth. 'I like your way of thinking, Tatsumi.' She managed to express, already trying to snatch the plate away from his hands.

'Wait just a few more moments. It's done in a few minutes.' He laughed, while he used his body to shield their culinary creation from Akame's insatiable hunger. Leone found herself seduced by the tempting scent streaming out of the kitchen after she woke up. 'Ohayou, Onee-san. Here's breakfast.' Tatsumi hummed, while he handed her plate over with the delicious meal.

'Arigatou…Hmmm, that's awesome. How do you and Akame always do that?' She demanded. 'I guess we're just a good team.' He chanted, as he sat down next to her. 'Who are you gonna be training with today?' Leone asked with her mouth stuffed with perfectly cooked and seasoned noodles. 'With you.' He answered, flashing her a small grin, which managed to paint her cheeks the color of red.

Aw, we're gonna have so much fun today, sunshine.' She announced, immediately shoving Tatsumi into her perky breasts again. 'Am I going to drink until I can't count up to 3 anymore?' Tatsumi guessed, a light chuckle escaping him, while Leone still held him in her arms. 'Damn right, but that's not everything.' She promised, giving him a gentle headpat, before she released him.

'I'd say I eat up and then we're going to work.' Leone suggested with an incredibly bright smile. After she did so, she took her student to the training grounds. In the meantime the other Night Raid members started to assemble in the living room. Lubbock brought Najenda a tea, who was reading through another document.

'Thanks, Lubbock.' She said. 'Miss Najenda, do you think it's such a good idea to pair him up with Leone?' Lubbock questioned.' Why not? She volunteered for training him. Our women seem to have taken a liking to him. He's a ladykiller. Huh? Funny? Because he's an assassin…Get it? Maybe not…' The boss joked in a failed attempt to be funny, leaving an uncomfortably awkward atmosphere in the room.

'I mean…Leone, it's obvious, right? She always shoves him into her boobs and Sheele likes to hug him. Even Akame has been acting differently, since he's here. It's not that I'm jealous or something…not at all…' The teenager denied, as he tossed in some sugar into his coffee and stirred it around quickly, showing off the typical signs of envy. 'Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if even Mine had something for him too.' He added.

'Hell no!' Mine yelled with flames in her eyes and razor sharp teeth, clenching her fist, which was about to smash Lubbock's head. 'But to be fair, Tatsumi has 3 things you don't have. First, he just looks better than you. Second he has charm and third he isn't a pervert like you.' She pouted. 'Damn, that's some brutal honesty there, but you're kind of right.' Bulat commented.

'I wouldn't say so entirely. Lubbock can be a gentleman too, if he wants to.' Miss Najenda chuckled. 'Where is Tatsumi anyways?' Sheele asked, looking clueless through the window. At the training grounds…

'Alright, sunshine. Get rid of all your weapons now.' Leone ordered with a smug face. 'I can't believe it.' He exclaimed. 'What?' She asked. 'You're sober.' He laughed. 'Pft…that's gonna change soon enough.' She giggled, as she went through her short, feminine haircut. 'Good, now we…' She started, but before she could finish the sentence, Tatsumi unsheathed his hidden blades.

'Are you fucking kidding me?! How many fucking weapons do you have?' Leone yelled. Tatsumi found her reaction absolutely hilarious. Exactly what he had hoped for. 'Just kidding.' He giggled, sheathing his hidden blades. 'As I mentioned, hand-to-hand combat is gonna be today's topic.' Leone announced.

'Cool.' He replied with sparkling eyes. Although he appreciated and liked sword fighting with Akame a lot, martial arts with Leone seemed appealing too. 'So what we're gonna do is, I'll attack you with my right fist and you block like this.' She instructed, briefly showing off the movements to her partner.

'Alright, let's go.' She announced, throwing her hands to the cloudless sky. She threw a punch towards Tatsumi, but he blocked it to the side and placed his fist a hair away from her solar plexus. 'Nice. There we go sunshine.' Leone cheered, shoving Tatsumi into the side of her left breast. 'Actually, I have been doing Karate for several years.' He revealed with red cheeks. 'Cool. You still do it?' She returned. 'Yeah, sometimes I go somewhere quiet and practice a bit. It's been a few weeks though.' Tatsumi added.

'Alright, let's repeat that, but this time I'll attack you faster and I won't just stop. Since…let's be real. None of your enemies will ever stop after he threw his first punch at you and patiently wait for you to blow his lights out, while he's twiddling with his thumbs, ok sunshine? Your opponent will try to steamroll you as soon as possible to finish the fight as soon as possible. Makes sense, right?' Leone clarified, as she positioned herself for their next exercise.

'Is obvious. Like sword fighting. Minimal exposure to oneself.' He agreed with a brief nod. Leone explosively charged forward with her left fist, which almost hit Tatsumi straight to his face had he not blocked it to the side, yet just less than a moment later her other fist neared his belly. He stepped back to evade it, but her elbow was already an inch away from his face.

Tatsumi dashed back again and let the elbow travel instead of trying to withstand its destructive power. Another fist. Again, he checked her fist with his leading left hand and moved it aside with his right hand. He tried to focus on gaining control of her center, but Leone just reacted and repositioned herself for another series of attacks towards her target.

Both combatants entered a flow. Back and forth. Sometimes Leone was on the offensive and sometimes Tatsumi was pressing his attacks. Suddenly, she kicked him on his upper, right thigh, causing him to stagger and even worse, tense up.

Punch after punch broke through his defenses and not even an instant later, he was lying on the ground, while his mentor had her whole, right underarm a hair away from his face and his whole body under control to prevent him from even thinking about retaliating.

'I win.' Leone stated, flashing him a bright grin from ear to ear. 'Wow, Onee-san. You're awesome.' Tatsumi remarked, as he reciprocated her satisfied smile. 'You're not bad either. That was quite good actually.' She returned, allowing herself to fall down on him to hug him like a teddy bear.

In that particular moment, Bulat hit the training grounds as well, coming to the sight of the blonde hovering over his student in a very distinctive pose, which would lead most to only one conclusion. 'Eeerrr…guys?' He greeted them. 'It's not what it looks like…We're just training…' The innocent teen giggled, as a big drop of sweat run down his forehead, which only earned a raised eyebrow as reaction

'He's mine today.' Leone pouted, clinging onto him possessively. 'Ay, I'm not one to steal.' Bulat returned with a brief shrug, before he focused his undivided attention to training. 'Onee-san…He's kind of right though. I'd like to stand up again.' He reminded her, while he tried to regain his footing on his own despite her lying on him basically. 'Ah, I forgot.' She said, dragging him back on his feet.

'So…what do you think?' He asked. 'Alright. So, that was pretty good, you know how to fight, you're reaction's good and your footwork's decent. I registered that you were a bit tense though. That's something you never want to have. I'll show ya why. Try to block my arm with a typical Karate block and tense up for as long as possible.' Leone stated again untypically serious in contrast to her rather upbeat and humorous nature.

She slowly pushed her right fist towards his chest and he returned her attack with a traditional block from left to right like it's taught in the very first grades of Karate. He managed to keep her arm in place with it, but he could already figure what his teacher was getting at. She loosened up and simply rolled over his arm with the same fist and positioned it millimeters away from his face.

'See? You really don't want to be too tense in a fight. You'll lose your flexibility and your ability to react in time. Not to mention that it takes waaaayyy too much energy to maintain that tension. It just doesn't work out. You only want to be tense in that short moment in which you finish the technique, but then you immediately loosen up again, since you don't wanna throw marshmallows at your enemy either and also you need to be flexible in case the attack didn't go through.' Leone elaborated pretty concise and simple.

'You always need to keep an eye out. I've never met an opponent, who'd wait for you to finish him off. You need to be constantly moving. Actually, I know a pretty neat exercise for that. It teaches you to not be tense and react to your opponent, so you'll develop a feeling for that sort of contact.' She further explained. 'Alright, what do I need to do?' Tatsumi asked.

'Just put your arms next to mine and then one of us is gonna push. The other one reacts. Let's do it slowly.' She instructed him, once their position was established. He made the first step and pushed his left arm towards her, but she simply moved it aside with her own and now she was pushing him. 'Relax, sunshine.' She reminded him, while he was trying to react to her. 'Don't think too much about Karate or fighting right now. Just go with flow.' She added, so she could make this potentially easier for him. 'Hm, I see.' He said, as he was focused on moving with Leone. 'Also let's move around a bit. Would be slightly boring if we did this, standing there the whole time.' The taller blonde added.

'Can you feel it? She asked with a motivating smile. 'Yeah, I could do that with my eyes closed and still know where your hands are.' Tatsumi noted. 'The cool thing about this drill is that you're also training your own feeling for your body. Sometimes I push, sometimes you push. That's just how it goes and later on these will become techniques.' Leone added, while he pushed his elbow towards her, which she parried with her upper left arm and retaliated by slowly moving her right arm towards his face.

'Ah, it's so much fun to play with you, sunshine.' The female assassin purred like an adorable cat. 'Funny, how you perceive the art of killing as a game.' Her colleague returned with a light chuckle. 'Sure. Wouldn't you agree that this is fun?' Leone rhetorically questioned. 'You got a point.' He laughed.

'It's the first time he's laughed like that. He's so cute when he's happy.' She thought, as her cheeks reddened immensely again. 'Uhm…anyway, I think it's good for now.' The teacher stuttered, stopping the exercise with her disciple.

'What you did exceptionally well was, you tried to take control of my center. That's extremely important. I'll show ya why.' Leone praised him by gently stroking his head. She positioned herself in front of Tatsumi in a neutral stance. 'Attack me.' She ordered. He immediately charged forward with his right fist targeted towards her chin.

She tapped it slightly with her leading hand, switched over with the other hand and used her underarm to hold his attacking arm in place, while she had repositioned herself away from him, yet still very close to get out of his line of attack in order to get a better angle on him from where she could counter.

Leone stood there, almost casually, one would assume when he would view both fighters in their current positions. 'Can you feel it?' She asked. 'Yeah, I can't do anything against you, no matter how much force I use. If you hadn't, I would have done this.' Tatsumi answered. Leone intentionally moved her underarm down his, as he cautiously moved her elbow towards her face.

'Exactly. If I don't have you locked down, you can pull stuff on me like this. That's why you need to take control of your opponent's center as soon as possible. Keep in mind though that you won't be standing like this for all eternity. When you go in like I just did, you want to keep it goin' and enter the in-fight as soon as possible.' She lectured. 'Makes sense.' The student agreed with a nod.

'You should also make sure that you move your feet accordingly. That's almost as important, if not more. Try to keep your back foot pointed towards me, so your power is directed towards me. Also you obviously want to go out of the way of my attack instead of taking it head on, so that's another reason to use your feet.' Leone added.

'Yeah, you want to strike with your whole body instead of only your limbs. The power is on a whole different level. It's really impressive how a little change of the position of your foot can have such an impact.' Tatsumi pointed out. 'It's just bullshit to assume that you would always take every attack head on. That just doesn't work. It is way more efficient to move out of the line of attack, to which the whole power goes to and instead of just standing there.' She critiqued.

'That's true. Karate often appears like that especially in Katas, but when it comes down to the real thing that just goes out the window and then it's done like you just said.' He confirmed. 'Having that said…wanna do some sparring?' Leone suggested, as a heated grin formed on her face. 'Sure, Onee-san.' He agreed.

'The loser pays tonight's drinks.' Night Raid's alcoholic shouted, as she already tried to overwhelm Tatsumi with her unstoppable fist. 'I better win then.' Tatsumi replied, sweat trickling down his forehead at the prospect of being forced to finance the cost of her excessive alcohol consumption.

They engaged in a heated duel, throwing everything they had at each other, resulting into them lying on the training grounds completely exhausted. 'Ay, that was soooo much fun, sunshine. Thank you.' Leone breathed out with a smile on her sweat covered face, that couldn't have been bigger. 'Great that you had your fun…' Tatsumi uttered, as he gasped for air.

'And up we go.' She hummed, jumping back on her two feet. 'Do you need a hand?' She asked, as she reached her right hand out towards him. 'Thanks.' He said with a tired smile. 'In a few hours, we'll be goin' to the capital, so you can rest up now, if you want. The following will be highly important as well.' She informed him, shoving Tatsumi into her soft breasts again.

'Ok, I'll go take a shower now and then nap a bit.' He stated, while he leaned into her bosom for a few moments to catch a break. Inside the base…

Tatsumi quickly went into his room and got himself new boxers, a towel firmly wrapped around his lower body. He headed straight for the laundry room. 'Oh, Tatsumi…Uhm…I'm doing the laundry. Do you need anything to be washed?' Mine stuttered with red cheeks, while she held a bucket of what seemed to be mostly dark clothing.

'Oh…Uhm…Sorry. My assassin robe please, if you don't mind.' He asked politely and equally fluent. 'Sure, toss it in.' She nodded, taking the black-red robe with her. 'Thanks.' He said, going back into the male bathroom to take a much needed shower. After he did so, he almost fell into bed, drifting off to sleep very quickly…

A few hours have passed and Tatsumi awoke from another nightmare. He visited the laundry room again, finding Mine sitting in front of what seemed to be an insurmountable mountain of laundry. 'Oh dear, Mine…Do you need help?' He offered, while he looked for his uniform. 'Me? I don't need help. I can do this.' She pouted with her arms folded.

'Here's your assassin robe. I ironed it already.' Mine added, when she saw his confused and searching look. 'Oh, thank you.' Tatsumi said and softly patted her head, causing her cheeks to heat up like an oven. 'Uhm…are you sure you don't need help? I mean that's quite a lot…' He questioned a second time, pointing out her rather unfortunate situation as of now.

'I…Sure, I need help…' The girl acknowledged in defeat. 'Can you at least turn your back to me?' Mine yelled, as he changed his clothes. 'No.' He replied with a blank stare similar to a certain mead-addict in the Night Raid family, once he finished dressing himself. 'You are all weird. Every single one of you.' She grumbled.

Tatsumi took a part of the laundry mountain and started to iron the clothes. 'Why are you doing this? This is not your chore.' Mine asked surprised. 'Because I'm sure you got better things to do than doing the laundry the entire day.' Tatsumi explained. 'Thanks, I appreciate it.' She responded positively surprised by his act of kindness.

'I washed your assassin robe on 30°C.' Mine informed him. 'Ok, because otherwise the colors would have mixed.' He concluded. 'Yeah…Wait! You know how about that?' She asked surprised. 'Of course. I know how to do laundry.' He giggled. 'Sugoi! Is there something you can't do?' Mine questioned happily. 'I'm sure, there's a bunch of them.' He giggled, while he ironed one of Akame's black, sleeveless blouses.

'I know Sheele can be a bit clumsy sometimes, but she told me that she washed you with the clothes. How did she pull that one off…?' Tatsumi asked unable to hold back a light chuckle. 'I have absolutely no idea. All that I know was that I found myself inside that thing.' Mine answered, having unsettling flashbacks of that event.

'I think it wasn't as nice in there…' He guessed. 'Hell, no!' She laughed. 'Sunshine, we're goin'.' Leone shouted through the base, since they would go to the capital now. 'Oh, I have to go with Leone. Training continues.' The young man registered. 'I bet she's trying to teach you how to drink bear after bear.' Mine joked.

'That included.' He agreed, as he tightened the red belt on his assassin robe. 'Sorry, I couldn't finish all the laundry.' Tatsumi sighed. 'Don't worry. I'll deal with the rest.' She returned. 'See you later.' He whispered and quickly hugged Mine. She enjoyed the warmth he gave her for a few moments.

'Coming.' He shouted, running off with immense speed. 'I'm just going to reequip my weapons and then we can go.' Tatsumi added loudly. He ran through the living room, coming across Bulat. 'I assume these are all yours.' He asked, pointing to the weaponry on the couch. Tatsumi nodded. 'You have a lot of weapons. Enough to kill an entire army.' He pointed out.

'No imperial arm, no problem.' Tatsumi joked, forming the 'OK-sign' with his left hand. 'I wish I could have a chat with you right now, but Leone and I will head out. Training continues.' The assassin-in-training explained. 'Oh, I see. But no matter what you do, don't start a drinking contest with her and try to come home sober.' His mentor advised him.

'It's her…you know it's impossible.' Tatsumi sighed. 'Ok, see you later. Gonna get back to training now.' Bulat laughed. 'See you later.' He said, while he grabbed his sword. On his way out, he came across Sheele. 'Can't talk. Need to go now.' Tatsumi briefly uttered, giving her a quick, friendly hug.

'The book you gave me is great.' Sheele loudly thanked him. 'No problem.' He shouted towards her general direction. 'There you are sunshine. Let's take a walk to the capital.' Leone giggled, taking his hand and dragging him behind her. In the slums of the capital…

Leone and Tatsumi strolled through the slums. Small, colorful stores were everywhere and the people were talking to each other. A stark contrast to the hopeless and desperate faces slowly trudging through the life-deprived streets of the capital. 'I never knew this place existed.' Tatsumi stated under the cover of his hood.

'This is where I spent my childhood. These are the slums.' She revealed. 'This place seems so much livelier compared to the capital.' He pointed out, as he took several looks around. 'Yeah, that's because the people, who live here don't know, if they'll get to see another day, so they try to make the best out of every day.' Leone explained.

'Leone! Hey, Leone!' Several people greeted them happily. 'It seems you're commonly known.' Tatsumi stated. 'I have my connections.' She giggled. 'And that's what this is gonna be about.' Leone began, excitement radiating from her.

'As an assassin, connections can be helpful to get you the things you want. For that you need to talk to people and persuade them to do the things you want. This becomes easier, if you and the person you're talking to are friends.' She explained. 'Sounds plausible.' He agreed.

'But most of the time, the people you're aiming for are completely unknown to you. The tricky part here is to convince these people to do what you want.' Leone further elaborated. 'Hmm…why not just threaten them and be good with it. We're assassins after all.' Tatsumi questioned.

'Fair enough, but I'd only do that as last resort. Otherwise you could potentially blow your cover and you probably won't be able to make use of that person anymore, unless you got dirt on her.' She replied. 'And what if I hate people?' The student asked. 'Well, shit…do you?' Leone returned surprised. 'Can't say that I like them.' He responded brutally honest.

'I mean…if work requires it, then you gotta do it, I guess. Regardless of your feelings.' Leone lectured him. 'It is what it is. In that case how do I do that?' He sighed resigned. 'I'm gonna show ya.' Leone giggled. The busty blonde approached a man in his fifties. 'Sir…could you give me some money, please? My little brother and I haven't eaten since 3 days…' Leone begged with the most innocent face one could make.

'I'm sorry. I need the money for myself.' The bald man apologized. 'Please, I'd do anything…' She persisted, consciously pressing her breasts against her target's arm. 'Anything?' The old man repeated, as a perverted smile formed on his face. 'If you give me your money, I'll let you tough these two.' Leone whispered into his ear with a seductive voice.

The man hastily reached into his wallet and handed the money over to Leone in order to fulfill his kinky fantasies. She slapped him on his left cheek, leaving the man very confused.' See? Works. Every. Time.' She turned to Tatsumi, wearing a satisfied grin. 'I'm sorry, sir. Here's your money. I just wanted to show something to my friend here. Have a nice day.' Leone apologized.

The poor man immediately left utterly confused. 'So, in the end it comes down to what you're saying. You can improvise with the things around you. Body language is also very important, when you sell a lie to someone. You just need to be convincing.' She explained as if it was the easiest thing in the world to fool and bend people's will to one's own.

'I understand…But I don't have the same 'benefits' as you…' He noted, drawing big, round circles on his upper chest. 'You mean these two? They're just the icing on the cake.' His favorite busty blonde laughed. 'Now, try it yourself. Talk people into doing things for you.' Leone giggled with a bright grin.

Now he had to pick his prey. He spotted a thin, averagely tall, black-haired woman in her twenties, carrying a newly bought bottle of sake in her hands. In the next instant he picked up Leone without a word. 'Uh, now I'm excited.' Leone stated with red cheeks. 'Act as if you are barely conscious and cough sometimes. I have a plan.' He whispered to her.

The young man sprinted to the unsuspecting target with Leone in his arms. 'Miss, please. I need your help immediately.' The worried boy approached her, terror visible in his eyes. 'The woman in your arms doesn't look good at all.' She stated fairly concerned, as her hand traveled up to her mouth. 'Yes, she's barely alive…she's barely conscious and coughs heavily sometimes.' Tatsumi explained erratically, which was followed by said coughing from Leone.

'I don't know, if I can help…I'm not a doctor.' The woman muttered helpless, as she put her hand on the girl's forehead to check if she had any fever. 'Please, my girlfriend might die in a few moments!' The boy yelled, staring deeply into the woman's eyes, as if his own life was on the line.

'Dear…she's glowing…' She registered, while she pulled her hand back. 'The last time, the doctor said that she has a severe illness that can only be kept at bay by giving her high-quality alcohol, but the both of us can't afford even an average bottle of sake…Oh, my god, she's gonna die…' Tatsumi panicked at the verge of tears, as he held his ear to her heart, pretending that her life force was fading.

The woman eyed the desperate boy in front of her, who was trembling, threatening to drop his beloved girlfriend, who was supposedly hanging on by a threat. 'I have this bottle. That should keep her alive.' The courageous and helpful female figured, as she was about to pour the beverage into Leone's mouth. This is where Tatsumi wanted to stop.

'Thank you, miss but she is fine.' The assassin giggled and gave his colleague the sign to awake from her supposed coma. 'Thank goodness, your girlfriend is fine.' The woman sighed with her hand to her upper chest, as if she had a stroke. 'Actually, she's not my girlfriend. She's just a good friend of mine.' He affirmed with a faint blush.

'Oh really? You two would make for a cute couple.' The young, black-haired woman chuckled at the revelation. 'Sorry for the little scare. We just wanted to practice something. Anyway, this bottle seems new. What did you buy it for, if I may ask?' Tatsumi questioned. 'My boyfriend and I are celebrating our anniversary.' She responded, as she held her reddened cheeks with both of her hands, as if she was dreaming and awfully love-struck.

'Awesome. My congratulations.' The boy returned. 'I have to go now. Have a nice day, you two.' The woman said with a bright grin, before she jumped off towards the different direction. 'Almost perfect...' Leone sighed, as she glanced over to the slender figure of the woman in the back. 'What did I do wrong?' Tatsumi asked confused. 'I was thirsty. I could have used a bottle.' She laughed.

'Seriously?' He blurted out in disbelief. 'Yeah. Do you know how hard it is to grind all the bucks together for a good, new bottle?' The blonde alcoholic questioned rhetorically. 'I know, but she's celebrating her anniversary with her beloved.' The student implied. 'Other than that you were convincing. Let's practice this a bit more often.' She suggested so her apprentice could hone his skills in the art of lying and deception. Evening…

'Aaaand now…onto the best part of today's training exercise.' Leone announced with a bright grin. 'Oh I forgot…there was something with excessive alcohol problems.' Tatsumi mumbled, while a huge drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. 'This is gonna be so much fun, sunshine.' The female assassin purred, as she shoved him in to her breasts again.

'You really like doing that, don't you?' He asked with a light chuckle. 'Of course I do.' Leone responded, pulling the target of her affection even deeper into her embrace. 'Then let's go.' Night Raid's newest addition offered with a cute, childlike grin. 'Do you know where?' He asked, as they strolled through the crowded night in the capital.

'I have something in mind.' The female assassin chuckled, leading him through the plastered streets of the capital to a certain place, which both of them knew very well. 'Our little walk today was fun. If ya want we can do it again.' She stated with red cheeks, as she took his left hand. 'I'd be down for that.' He replied, following closely behind her. A bit later…

'There we are sunshine.' Leone said, pointing to the restaurant they were going to enter. 'That triggers some memories…' The boy giggled, while he had flashbacks of the first time he met the playful blonde in that alley, after he got kicked out of the enrollment center for the imperial army to when he sat with her in that locale.

They sat into the corner of the inn, after they entered, so they could speak undisturbed. There was even a piano playing in the background accompanied by saxophones. 'Good evening. What shall it be?' The waitress asked with a bright smile and flushed cheeks. Both could tell that the woman was a new labor force in the restaurant, judging by the aura of enthusiasm and the fact that she was most likely a minor.

'Beer.' Leone ordered. 'I'd like to have a cherry ice tea with vodka.' Tatsumi added to the list. 'Uhm…alright. Thanks for your order. I'll be right back.' She responded with a short bow, before she hasted back to the bartender. Shortly after, she returned with the drinks in hand and served them to the assassins.

'Have you ever got yourself drunk?' The hard drinker in front of him questioned, as she watched him gaze into his glass, while he drew small circles with it. 'Only a few times, but I stopped a couple years ago to keep myself healthy, so I could kill targets more efficiently.' The boy replied, attempting to maintain eye contact, while his hand slowly traveled up to his neck ever so subtly, leaving tiny scratches on his otherwise spotless skin.

(Flashback)

Tatsumi awoke after another one of these continuous nightmares. Over the years he got accustomed to the disturbing images, yet they did never cease to haunt him. After the initial angst subsided, he pushed himself off the bed and descended the stairs to get inside the kitchen. He tore the fridge open and immediately gulped down a scary amount of the 1,5L vodka bottle.

He could feel the effect of the alcohol slowly numb his senses, numbing the pain, making it possible for him to fall asleep again. Sayo could hear these awfully familiar noises again coming from the kitchen. These noises always implied that Tatsumi got himself drunk and as of late this evolved into a serious drinking problem.

Ieaysu already had had a 'brotherly' conversation in order to convince him to stop. She threw her hands over her head and let out a resigned sigh. 'This can't go on like this.' Sayo told herself, as she stood up from her bed. The girl almost rushed downstairs at this late hour to find him on the couch, possessively clinging to the bottle like a teddy bear, before he gulped down the last bit of it.

'He must have downed the whole bottle within 30 minutes.' She deduced, as she sat down next to him. 'Sayo…' Tatsumi mumbled in a heavily drunk voice. 'Why are you drinking so much again?' Sayo asked silently, while she put her right hand over his left hand and stared deep into his emerald-green eyes to gain his undivided attention.

'Me?' The drunken teenager asked back. 'I only drank a glass or two…' He added in his defense. 'No, Tatsumi…you drank the whole bottle…You've not been yourself lately.' She stated, moving the bottle out of his reach. 'Please, I need this!' Tatsumi pleaded, desperately trying to recover the bottle despite missing it by a large margin due to his impaired vision.

'No! I won't stand by and watch how you destroy yourself.' Sayo refused, almost yelling at him, as she grabbed both of his sides and shook him, as if she wanted to wake him up from a coma. 'I'm sorry, Sayo…' The boy muttered barely above a whisper, unable to reciprocate her intent stare.

Simply by the expression of his eyes she could tell that he was in pain. That he felt troubled, that he bottled up something deep inside and tried to silence it with all he could. 'Then why are you doing this?' She questioned quietly, while she gently wrapped her right arm around Tatsumi.

'So I can sleep…' He admitted. 'When was the last time you've really slept?' The brunette asked. 'I can't remember…' The drunken boy replied. 'Come. I'll get you to bed.' Sayo whispered, helping her friend to stand up. She helped him into her room and laid him into her bed.

'If you feel like this again, you can always come to me.' The girl quietly offered, as she laid himself next to him and covered him and herself with a blanket. 'Thanks.' Tatsumi responded equally silent. 'Please promise me to stop with this.' The girl said, while she seized his hands and wrapped hers around his. 'I promise you to stop with drinking.' He vowed, gazing back deep into her eyes.

'Good night, Tatsumi.' Sayo whispered. 'Good night, Sayo.' Tatsumi returned, embracing her from behind. A deep blush crept on her face, but liked the feeling of this tender gesture, so she did nothing against it. From this night on, Tatsumi has never been drunk again. (flashback end)

'You sound way too much like Akame.' The busty blonde across the table giggled. 'Come on, she's got a point.' The younger of the assassins answered, after he took another zip from his ice tea. 'Or do you want me to become a hard drinker like you and a smoker like our boss?' He elaborated with a light chuckle. 'No, you're too innocent for this. Would be hilarious though.' She responded with a laugh.

'I doubt I'll be able to walk, when I'm completely drunk.' Tatsumi stated. 'Don't worry. I'll get ya back home safe and sound.' Leone purred. 'This is gonna be a long night, darling.' She hummed with an underlying charm in her voice, before she downed the rest of her beer. 'Alright, do you just want to drink or do you wanna see who can take more?' Her colleague questioned, leaning over the piece of furniture, eyeing her with a challenging stare.

'I just wanna have fun tonight. You'd die trying anyway.' Night Raid's alcoholic guaranteed him, since she assumed it wouldn't even be a contest, thus dismissing the challenge. 'You ain't never gonna drink me below the table.' Tatsumi boasted, after he too downed his drink. 'You sure 'bout that?' Leone asked, raising an eyebrow. 'Damn right.' He insisted, while he raised his hand to order another round of drinks.

'You asked for it.' The woman shrugged, taking on the challenge. 'How come you're in Night Raid?' The newest addition to the assassin squad asked, after their drinks were served. 'It's simple. I like to beat the crap out of people I can't stand.' Leone explained, shrugging again as if being an assassin was nothing out of the norm.

'Typical of Leone.' The young man thought, while he turned into a cute chibi, a big drop of sweat running down his forehead. 'Do you have any plans for the future once this is all over?' Tatsumi questioned with a rather intent and serious gaze into her radiant, yellow eyes. 'No idea…Make a tour around the world with you guys, settle down with someone and stuff like that.' The experienced assassin replied.

'Wow…that sounds…pretty normal.' The boy stated with wide eyes. 'At the end of the day, we're still people like everyone else, despite all the stuff we're doing. Wouldn't you agree?' She added. 'Kind of…yeah…' Tatsumi agreed, looking down onto his open hands. 'But to be honest, I would have expected you as the last one to settle down.' The teen giggled, before he took a zip from his second drink.

'As long as I find the right man.' Leone purred, reciprocating her colleague's intent stare. 'I hope you find him.' The innocent boy returned with a cute smile. She just giggled, but inside herself she was throwing her up hands in resignation. 'Damn it! He didn't get it…He's way too innocent and way too cute…' The girl mentally sighed, as her advance obviously failed.

'And you?' Leone inquired, returning the question. 'Me? Honestly, I don't think a lot about my future. I live day by day, because sometimes I don't know if I get to see another day. My only goal right now is to end all this corrupt and messed up stuff with the empire, but travelling around the world with all of you sounds cool.' He answered like an excited child.

'True, but you can't just base your whole life on killing people. It will get to you, trust me. You also need to enjoy life like a normal person instead of losing yourself in your job.' The female assassin advised. 'How can I call myself a normal human again? After everything we've done. After everything I've seen…' Tatsumi questioned, again looking down on his open hands.

'The stain will always remain, no matter how hard you try.' Leone stated brutally honest, coming over to sit next to him. A fact that could never be denied. 'But at least try. We can help you, after it's over.' She attempted to encourage her friend, seeing as this was something that bothered him ever since he joined their ranks. 'Thanks. That's so kind of you to take me into your group and accept me the way I am.' The Night Raid assassin said with a genuine smile.

'Ay, no problem, sweetheart. We appreciate you being with us.' His colleague returned, blinking towards him with her left eye. 'Yeah…even Mine.' He pointed out, rolling his eyes. 'Oh, come on. Have you seen how red her creamy face gets when you're near her? Red like a tomato if you ask me.' She informed him, unable to hold back her laughter.

'No, you're telling me…No, just no.' The young man denied, laughing heavily, while he pointed with his index finger towards Leone several times. 'May I ask you something?' The girl asked. 'Sure, I'm listening.' Tatsumi signalized, as he emptied his second glass of ice tea. 'Do you plan on getting into a relationship anytime soon?' The busty blonde inquired with slightly reddened cheeks.

'Not really. Maybe after the war is over.' He replied briefly, tensing up for a short moment. 'You still miss her, don't you?' Leone figured, picking up on the subtle gesture of him. 'No.' The boy refused. There it was again. That subtle gesture, the tiny motion of his hand, travelling up to his neck to leave small red marks on it.

'You don't need to lie to me. It's perfectly normal to miss people you loved.' His colleague assured him, earning a resigned sigh from him. 'I always will.' Tatsumi admitted, staring into his empty glass, as the music in the back of the bar reached a depressing climax. 'I think she'd want you to be happy.' The blonde encouraged with a warm smile, intent on cheering him up.

'I hope…I moved on. Or at least I'm trying my best to do so.' The newly deemed assassin of Night Raid stated, as he looked up to the ceiling of the room, in which they were situated. 'Tatsumi?' She called. 'Oh sorry, I was just lost in thought for a second.' He apologized. 'It's ok. Just enjoy the evening. You deserved it.' Leone said, slinging her arm around the young man's neck.

'Ay. You're right. Prepare to be beaten at your own game, Onee-san.' Tatsumi agreed and ordered another round of drinks for both of them, so their drinking competition could further continue. 'Remember, the loser pays the drinks.' She reminded him, looking back at him with a mischievous grin. 'I hope you brought your wallet.' The boy countered with a grin of his own.

'I don't know what you mean. You lost our little sparring today, so you're paying tonight.' The young woman reminded her challenger. 'We'll see.' He simply responded. 'Let's get wasted.' Leone cheered, raising her right arm in excitement, as their third round of drinks arrived. Later…

'Ahhh…I could do this all night long. How about you, sunshine?' The female alcoholic mumbled, after she slammed down her sixth emptied mug of beer. Next to her was her Tatsumi, leaning against her with his head half into the side of her left breast, completely unable to perceive his surroundings.

He was about to fall underneath the table, before she managed to prevent his fall. 'I drunk him below the table, but a bit more and he could have gotten me. Damn…' She thought impressed, while he mumbled some incomprehensible nonsense, before he completely sunk into her bosom with his face.

Out of curiosity she took a zip from his unfinished drink. 'Damn, that stuff bangs…Was he trying to kill himself?!' Leone noticed surprised, almost spitting out the hard booze. 'Alright, sunshine. Let's go home, before you falling under the table.' The busty blonde told the heavily drunken teenager, lifting him off of her. The waitress arrived, so the assassins could pay for their drinks.

'He's paying everything.' She informed the waitress, staring at him, lying there almost completely immovable. From what she could make out he mumbled that he actually forgot his wallet. 'Alright, I'm paying the drinks.' Leone sighed, getting out her wallet to pay the rather lengthy list of beverages. Once this was done, she grabbed Tatsumi and made him stand straight, so they could head back to base. 'Let's go home, Onee-san.' He blabbered happily like a small child. At the Night Raid base…

'Leone and Tatsumi are gone for a while now. I hope they'll find the way back home.' Sheele said, laying her book aside for a moment to express her concern. 'She drinks a lot, but she always comes back.' Akame stated as a matter of fact, while she chewed on a meat drumstick. 'They'll be fine. I just hope she didn't pour too much booze into his mouth.' Bulat, who just returned from his evening training routine said, thinking back to his young colleague and how far from sober he'll arrive.

Soon enough, the door opened with two heavily drunk assassins barging into the living room. 'Hey, guys.' They greeted in unison. 'Hey, Sheele. How about you give me a haircut with your scissor?' The teen under influence proposed, already leaning against the nearest wall to stand.

'That's not a good idea…I'm too clumsy and I mean your haircut is just fine.' The bookworm refused, since this admittedly highly stupid. 'Too bad…' The boy sighed. 'But bro it takes more than passion to stay alive and do you know what?' Tatsumi asked, inching towards him, almost tripping, before his teacher got a hold of him and placed him on the couch.

'Ah, yeah and what?' The Incursio-wielder demanded with a small laugh and assumed what sort of nonsense would come out of his student's mouth. 'Passion and a big bottle of vodka of course.' The newest Night Raid member stated full with excitement, making everybody in the room laugh.

'If ya always drink like that, you'll surely make it through in one piece.' Bulat chuckled. 'And…' He spoke up, standing up again. 'You look good as always. See you tomorrow.' Tatsumi said, softly patting Akame's head. 'Get some rest. You will need it.' The meat-addict returned as factual as always, turning her focus back to her midnight snack.

'Come here, Onee-san.' The boy ordered, pulling her close. 'It was so much fun. Maybe a bit too much. I'll take a nap now.' He blabbered on in his drunken voice, while he hugged the blonde like a teddy bear. 'It sure was, but don't overestimate yourself next time.' Leone laughed. Tatsumi broke the hug and attempted to reach the stairs.

He tripped in the process by accident due to the alcohol impairing his vision. He felt dizzy and his vision tilted around in every direction possible, as he was lying on the floor. 'I will bring you to your bedroom before you seriously injure yourself.' Akame sighed, after she finished up her meal. She stood up and secured him on his feet, holding his left arm.

The red eyed killer slowly walked him upstairs to his room, which was situated next to hers. 'I'm sorry that you have to bring me to my bedroom.' Tatsumi apologized. 'It's ok. You two had fun obviously.' She pointed out, as she guided him. 'Too much…obviously. Ahhh…what was I thinking?' He groaned, holding his head in pain.

'I am going to bed as well now.' Akame yawned, while she cautiously laid her comrade in his bed and covered him with a blanket. He threw his hood over his head. 'Good night, Tatsumi.' The raven-haired woman said ready to leave. 'Akame…' He tiredly mumbled her name. 'Thank you…' The boy uttered, before he drifted off to sleep like a baby, causing her to let out a light giggle. She laid herself in bed, falling asleep with a small smile on her face.

'How much did you let him drink? I mean seriously…' Sheele questioned with an obvious look of disappointment on her face. 'Too much obviously. He took some hard stuff, Not gonna lie. I bet you he couldn't have counted up to three anymore.' Leone sighed, slumping down on the couch next to the airhead. 'Go a bit easier on him next time.' She advised, standing up from the couch with her favorite book in hand.

'Will you find the way to your room?' Bulat asked, as he was about to shut the lights in the living room. 'Yeah, I'd say we call it a day.' The blonde agreed. With this everyone went straight to bed, letting darkness take over…

Little heads-up: Firstly, I'm still busy with the law bullshit. I need to do my law homework, which has to be at least 15 pages long and all that nonsense, which will take me another 2-3 weeks to finish and the disgusting is that the time I use for the homework will be stolen from my vacation. But after that I'm completely free and able to write as much as I want.

Secondly, I'm not satisfied with how the first chapter(s) turned out. I might make some major changes to Tatsumi set him up for his character arc. But that's something for the future as of now. I'm just out of the exam bullshit, so stay with me, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as you hopefully know constructive criticism is always appreciated. See ya^^.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Kill the fun

Guess who's back. Back again. I'm back with another chapter. I'm so sorry. I know that took way too long, but life got in the way and now I have to study for the law bullshit again. (Honestly fuck you, die slow Corona). But I promise that the story will soon pick up and I'll also rework the chapter 1-6 a bit.

Also I'll soon start with the first 3 chapters of my own story with Ashura 'insert title', but right now, law school is holding me up. I probably won't be able to write until mid of July/start of August.

Again, I'm really sorry, dear reader(s), I hope it won't happen again. Gommenasai! With that being said, I hope you have a nice day/night/whatever and enjoy the chapter, my dear reader(s) ^^.

The birds were chirping their happy chants, cheering to the beautiful sunrise. On any other day the boy, who was lying in his bed would have cherished the lovely noises from the small, flying animals, which usually gently woke him from his slumber. But right now, he would personally crawl out of his bed to assassinate these little tormenting ghosts in order to silence them.

'God, shut up already…' The poor man groaned, before he grabbed his pillow and pressed it around his ears to muffle the repetitive, high-pitched noises. 'Wait…don't tell me it's 6 am again.' He moaned underneath the pillow. 'No matter what you do Akame, don't knock on this door. Just stay away for as long as you can.' Tatsumi thought in hopes of being able to sleep a bit longer, ideally for the rest of the entire day.

But like many things in life, this hope too was utterly crushed as the sleepyhead with too much remaining alcohol in his body perceived the dreaded knock on his door, which eliminated any possibility of him to catch another second of rest. 'Ugh, god damn it...I'm so dead…Why always me?' The assassin in training grumbled, as he removed the bed sheets, which covered him with one unmotivated tug.

The sunlight penetrated his vision to an awfully annoying degree and standing up from his comfortable bed was nothing short of an impossible feat to accomplish, yet he still did it with his weighed down body. Another knock could be heard on his door, while he dragged his feet in front of him.

Akame decided to step into Tatsumi's territory to start today's training with him. The boy though -much like the drunken klutz he was-, tripped over the lazily sprawled out blanket on his floor. 'What the…No, god please no. Don't tell me I am, where I think I am. I saw this bullshit in so many mangas and anime already…' The young man thought with his face on something very comfortable.

'Oh lord, I am there! Akame is gonna kill me…Ok, Tatsumi be a gentleman. Stand up slowly, help her up and tell her it was a stupid accident and apologize as much as you can before she kills you.' The unfortunate teen strategized in his mind, as he was still lying in between his comrade's breasts, not daring to move an inch to prevent an immediate defensive reaction from her, which could result in his untimely demise.

Contrary to his previous train of thought, Tatsumi immediately stood up from her thin body, blushing from all the embarrassment. 'Gommenasai, Akame. I didn't mean to do that. It was an accident. Gommenasai, gommenasai, gommenasai.' The innocent boy stuttered, bowing down his head in shame unable to even look her in the eyes.

'Ahem, Tatsumi…' The victim of Tatsumi's alcohol excess called, clearing her throat after she managed to regain her feet. 'I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, if you can.' He continued in his apologetic tone, which was dripping with fear. 'It's ok, Tatsumi. I am not mad at you. It was an accident obviously. It appears as if your senses have not yet fully recovered.' The woman pointed out the obvious, eyeing her companion, who now looked into her eyes again, but was still shaking with uncertainty.

She seemed as calm and perfectly unscathed as always, despite what just happened, aside from the small, faint blush across her cheeks, which the boy took note of. 'Yeah…I'm still feeling a bit heavy and dizzy. Maybe it's not such a good idea to train today.' Tatsumi mumbled, as he ran his right hand through the back of his messy hair.

'Those who can drink beyond their limits can also train the day after.' His mentor declined ice cold, penetrating him with her blank stare, which by itself was very sobering. 'But…no, you're right. I gotta get stronger and see this through. Let's get this done.' Tatsumi agreed, after a second of protest, balling his fist as always when he tries to motivate himself for a new task. An hour later…

'Just let me die please…' The poor boy whined lying on the floor close to death by over-exhaustion as his vision made back flips, making it seem to him as if the sky was falling down. Back to present…

'Good. Then let us start with breakfast.' Akame announced, keeping her apprentice in her sight, who was following closely behind her. The crimson-eyed assassin turned her head slightly to see him holding onto the railing of the stairs with one hand and walking extra slowly. His face immediately heated up and his hand rushed up to hide his bright-red cheeks, when their gazes crossed for a moment.

She ignored the slight occurrence and marched straight towards the kitchen. Tatsumi knew that his teacher was quite generous to let him start with cooking instead of running behind her for several kilometers under the scorching sun or fighting her in merciless training battles. Or maybe she was just testing the waters after his little moment of weakness earlier.

He didn't know it for sure, but he was glad for certain. 'Alright, Tatsumi. Cut the spring onion into rings. Can you do that?' Akame demanded from her disciple, staring him dead in the eyes, holding the kitchen knife close to his face. 'Sure. It's just a spring onion. Come on.' The boy replied to her questioning gaze, which was more than justified with renewed confidence, as he took the knife from her.

'Tatsumi…' Night Raid's female cook called him. 'Yeah?' He turned to her. 'The onion is over there.' She pointed out having that same blank stare on her face again, even though anyone in her position would have scooped their hands over their head and sent that buzzed klutz back to bed where he probably belonged for the rest of the day, so he could come to his senses. But patience is a virtue, so they say.

Upon taking a second and third look, the cook under influence realized that he missed his target by quite a large margin. He turned silent and slowly guided the knife to where he wanted to cut. 'Motherf…' Akame heard him curse only a few moments later, which was followed by a low groan of pain.

Tatsumi, as annoyed by himself and by his apparent incompetence as he was, turned into an adorable chibi version of him with razor sharp teeth. He zipped through the whole kitchen and wildly swung the knife through the air, while he entered a savage tirade of curses that unfortunately had to be censored for the sake of this chapter.

She never had any idea that such an innocent boy as Tatsumi was capable of such a 'rich' vocabulary. While Tatsumi was going on to curse pretty much anything that existed on god's green earth, Akame did the only logical thing and got him a disinfectant, a plaster and a bandage. 'Bitch made ass f…..' angry chibi Tatsumi blurted out, before his colleague interrupted his 'tiny' outburst of anger.

'I took care of your wound.' She stated completely focused on her part of the work. 'Oh thanks. How did you…Ah, forget it.' The boy registered, upon seeing his left thumb wrapped up in a white bandage. 'What would I do without you?' The newest Night Raid member asked with a sweaty smile, going through his brown, spiky hair again.

Said assassin didn't care to answer as she was occupied with chopping up meat and more importantly sampling parts of the ingredients. 'You'd be long dead by now without me.' Akame thought to herself, preventing herself to remind him of that fact, although it was blatantly obvious to the both of them, while the room fell silent again.

'Now this is awkward…She probably thinks I'm an idiot.' The male teenager thought, daring to look over towards her for the fraction of a moment before he forced his sight back on the spring onion that he only chopped in half by now. 'Drunk idiot…' The raven-haired woman silently mumbled to herself, after she took notice of one of Tatsumi's peeks.

'Uhm…Akame…' The boy called her with quite a shaky voice. She turned to him, eyeing him with that blank, emotionless stare again, which she had on her face quite often, frankly almost all the time.

'Compressed posture, red cheeks, fiddling with his fingers. What did he screw up this time?' The experienced assassin deduced, as she picked up on the usual signs, which indicated embarrassment on Tatsumi's side that mostly are symptoms of his sporadic goofiness. Thank goodness, he wasn't nearly as clumsy as Sheele though.

But it took no extraordinary detective skills to figure that out. 'Uhm…Errr…About that from earlier…I'm so sorry. It really was a stupid accident. How can I make up for that?' The innocent boy managed to stutter, while he returned into a bowing position. 'Why is he still thinking about that?' Akame sighed inside her mind.

'As I said, I am not mad at you, since you didn't do it on purpose and you apologized. You possess a feeling for shame unlike other people here.' She affirmed definitively, so he would finally stop bothering her and himself with that marginal incident. 'Yeah…I bet you Lubbock would have done it on purpose and then some.' Tatsumi giggled, easing up considerably.

'And if you truly want to atone for what happened earlier, then make sure to perform well in today's training.' His teacher added, seeing him tense up again behind her at the mention of the following training session, as she made sure to clean up the kitchen. 'Uhm…yeah, sure.' The poor student replied with a sweaty smile again.

'I'm gonna die…' He whined inside his head, just having enough self-control to not slump down in front of his female colleague and lie on the floor for the rest of the day. 'Anyway, let's start with training, shall we?' His teacher said, sharply eyeing her disciple with her crimson-red eyes. Outside at the training grounds…

Akame was slowly jogging through the calm forest that surrounded their base. She ran slower than usually, which was still faster than the average human could dream of, since she knew that her apprentice would never stand any slight chance of staying in her general vicinity. Yet, regardless of her foresight, said boy was nowhere to be found. She couldn't even hear him run anywhere nearby, despite her enhanced and sharpened senses.

'Should I go look for him?' She asked herself, since she could only hear the gentle rustling of grass and the tender chirping of birds instead of his impossibly loud steps she associates him with, since he wasn't a prodigy in stealth nor did she teach him this ability excessively…yet. The girl focused for a moment to separate the noises in the background in order to maybe roughly locate Tatsumi.

Akame could perceive faint steps and moreover his aura trying to desperately close the distance on her. 'Several hundred meters. He's slowing down.' The raven-haired assassin deduced, once she opened her eyes again. 'No, he can do this. I will wait for him here.' The woman reasoned, as she made a few steps in his direction but halted again to sit on a stone nearby.

And indeed, 10 minutes later Tatsumi managed to drag his heavy feet and join up with his teacher. The look on his face said it all. Akame could read 'just let me die already' all over it, as he thudded towards her and only moments later he let out an exhausted scream, which echoed through the forest, scaring away the local wildlife for good measure.

'Took you long enough.' The female assassin stated with her arms folded, turning her head slightly to face Tatsumi with her blank stare. 'Excuse me for a second…' The boy said with his right hand over his mouth and an obviously uncomfortable look on his face. He instantly disappeared from her sight into a secluded area of the forest and moments later Akame could hear the sound of choking and excessive coughing.

'Did he just…' She asked herself, upon hearing the strange noises and after Tatsumi emerged from the bushes again, wiping the corner of his mouth with his left hand she came to the conclusion. 'Yup, he just vomited.' His master figured, as a huge drop of sweat slowly ran down her head.

Meanwhile her pupil collapsed next to her with his face first into the ground. What followed was some incomprehensible gibberish paired with some stressed and exhausted moaning. From what she could make out, he was begging for a 10 minute break.

This was fine by her, since they were in no rush and she had the slight feeling that, if she drilled the living corpse next to her any further, he might break down. For the whole time of his break, Tatsumi wouldn't move an inch. Fortunately he showed signs of life after it was over (and several pokes on his head) by raising his thumb. 'Can we walk slowly?' He asked, while he was trying his damndest to stand up.

'No.' Akame shot back, already running ahead, almost causing him to collapse down on the ground again. Her brief and stone cold answer made his chin almost hit the soil he weakly stood on. 'Did she…Did she just say…no?! Please tell me this is a bad dream…' The boy mumbled underneath his worn out breath and pinched himself to give himself a much needed reality check.

'Nope, it's not a dream…' The poor assassin in training registered, slumping on the ground like a lifeless puppet, whose strings have been cut. His consciousness was fading and his vision grew darker by the second. 'I need to keep going…Wait…Hold on a second!' He reprimanded himself, before he shot up on his feet again.

'Oi, Akame! If you want to kill me, just pull out your sword and get it over with! You don't have to push and pull me through all of this! I prefer dying quickly! I'll sue you into poverty for attempted murder!' Angry chibi Tatsumi screeched towards her general direction, but only his angered echo resounded. 'She probably thinks this is funny, but I'll show her! Alright, man up and get this shit over with!' He told himself, clenching his fists, about to run a whole marathon and then some.

Tatsumi mercilessly sprinted through the forest, leaving a thick trail of dust behind him. 5 minutes later…

'Can I die already, please?' He groaned loud and desperate on his way back underneath the scorching and taunting heat of the summer sun. His legs, which couldn't bear the burden of carrying him any longer, gave way and he stumbled over them. 'Ouch…' The poor teenager moaned into the ground.

'Crawling it is then…I swear one day, one of them is gonna kill me and I bet it's gonna be her.' The newest addition to Night Raid grumbled, while he used his right arm to drag the rest of his limp body through the dirt. At the training grounds…

He was on his last meters of this painful marathon and could already spot the training grounds, as well as his comrade standing there without a trace of sweat or exhaustion. 'Almost…just this one bit…' Tatsumi whispered and dragged his legs in front of him. As he was jogging to his target location, he could see 3 Akame's and the urge to just drop on the ground as well as to throw up his insides was limitless, but he wasn't having it.

The teenager bit his lower lip and ran those last painful meters towards his colleague. 'AHHH! Finally!' Tatsumi screamed out, when he dropped heads-first in a roll next to Akame, as if he was the first, who tore through the band at the end of a marathon. Sadly though, neither did the poor guy win a marathon nor did he finish first, in fact he finished last.

'At least he's determined.' His teacher thought, as she went to grab the training swords, while Tatsumi was dying on the ground. Only seconds later, the man could feel a piece of wood be tossed on his heaving chest, causing him to flinch together and grab it. He knew what he was in for the second he held the wooden weapon in his sweat drenched hands.

Before the boy could even form a proper thought, he was already being relentlessly charged by Akame. The first strike was an diagonal downwards arc, which he managed to barely block by raising his sword, but not even moments later the red-eyed killer followed up with a lightning-fast forward thrust, which her student couldn't even see.

The attack sent him reeling backwards on his back and an instant later the helpless man had a blade at his throat. Tatsumi was accustomed to being a victim of Akame's display of her sheer impressive skill, but what he also knew was that she didn't even use a third of it right now, because he was pretty much certain that with his weighed down body and perception he had no chance of competing with her.

He didn't even stand much of a chance against her when he was sober to begin with. Instead of resisting, he gave in and slumped on the ground, accepting another easy defeat by the hands of his teacher. Upon seeing him lie there like an unmoving corpse, she knelt down and offered her hand to her comrade.

Tatsumi used the sword to support his weight, while he kneeled on his left leg, taking in deep breaths. 'Just a moment, then we can…' The young man exhaled, whose face was completely drained of color. 'No, we will stop. You are not at your possible best right now…obviously. We will continue, once you are in shape to fight.' Akame interrupted him, as she turned her back to him and put her wooden katana aside.

'Thank god, it's over…' The exhausted boy breathed out. 'You did well, Tatsumi...' She commented on his performance today as monotone as always. 'Oh, thanks.' He uttered, raising his head in surprise. '…given your current condition.' His master finished. 'Awww…' The apprentice moaned, while his entire body slumped down again, since Tatsumi was painfully aware that he performed poorly this morning and he didn't need her to remind of that even though the teenager knew he kind of deserved being reprimanded.

To make matters worse, his belly started giving off impossibly loud grunts, also letting his comrade know that he was in desperate need of nutrition. 'I should eat breakfast and then take a nap.' The assassin announced with heavy breaths, while he was lying sprawled out on the ground.

'Nah, no one is gonna take a nap now.' A young, male voice denied as it neared itself, hopping down the railing of the base's entry. 'I assume you're here to take him from me, Lubbock?' Akame assumed, giving him too her blank and neutral stare. 'Yeah…Geez, what did you do to him…Come on, get it together, man!' The manga-addict scolded the motionless boy, who was lying on the training grounds in a fetal position.

'I challenge every single one of you to down as many drinks as I had to yesterday and do the same stuff I have to do every day ever since you maniacs kidnapped me!' Tatsumi immediately yelled at Lubbock with razor sharp teeth and a clenched fist about to smack, after he jumped up from the ground within an instant.

'Pfff, if we didn't kidnap you, you'd be dead.' He countered with a smug grin. 'And I'm still trying to figure out what's better!' Night Raid's newest addition shouted, now violently flailing around his stretched out and tensed up arms. 'Here we go again…' The green-haired, young man sighed, as he watched his colleague turn into an angry chibi again, albeit quite adorable.

'Did he have his breakfast yet?' Lubbock questioned to which his other comrade replied with a shake of her head, while said boy was zipping around the entire training environment, rambling on and on about how he was unjustly made Night Raid's slave. 'Hm, that explains a lot…would you please…?' He asked her, pointing indicatively towards Tatsumi behind him with his right thumb.

Akame nodded and struck her target down with a perfectly placed Karate chop on his dome, so he'd finally snap out of his fit of rage. 'Thanks…' the boy muttered once he returned back to normal, despite the fact that a big, fat and meaty bump formed on his head. 'Okay, listen up Tatsumi! You can have your breakfast and a short nap. We can take it slow today.' The 'crosstail'-wielder announced almost solemnly with way too much emphasis on himself.

'Good…' His temporary student replied with a relieved head nod. 'You see, I'm not a cruel slave driver like Akame over here.' Lubbock whispered to Tatsumi, slowly wrapping his right arm over his apprentices' shoulders to turn him away from his other mentor, even though she could still perfectly hear the talk behind her back.

'Idiots…' The crimson-eyed girl sighed inside her head, as she silently made her way back inside. Later…

After a refreshing shower, Tatsumi proceeded to devour his ramen noodles in predatory fashion much similar to a certain glutton in the assassin guild in order to fulfill the demands of his body, while his green-haired partner was able to observe this adventure. 'Damn, she must have done something to you, for you to start eating like her.' Lubbock pointed out, to which the other boy didn't care to reply since he was too invested into his current mission and thus continued gorging down his current bowl of noodles.

'Today, I'll show you the basics of laying traps and perimeter defense.' He announced, before he took a zip from his coffee. 'Sounds interesting.' The teen answered giving his partner a short glance to signal him that he has his undivided attention. 'And…' The manga-addict added, slowly inching closer to the innocent boy, who was consuming his breakfast.

'I will reveal all the truths you've ever wanted. All the secrets and truths about women.' The self-proclaimed womanizer quietly promised his disciple in secret to prevent ears that weren't supposed to hear their conversation from interrupting them. 'Morning, sunshine. Pervert' A female voice greeted the two.

'You!' Tatsumi attempted to shout with his mouth full of ramen noodles, while he gave her what was supposed to be a death glare and pointed at her with both of his chopsticks, as if he accused her of a grave crime, such as giving innocent teenagers way too much booze.

'Ah there you are. How did ya survive your little hangover?' Leone asked with a playful grin, as she was pouring a fair share of rum into her tea to the point that it could rather be considered rum with tea. 'Alright. Chew slowly, then talk.' The blonde ordered, once she sat next to Tatsumi, after she couldn't comprehend his initial yelling, which was suppressed by the noodles partially dangling from his mouth.

A few moments after the boy gorged down the remnants of his meal, he turned to Leone to give her his uncensored opinion. 'You put me through hell today! I almost died twice today because of you! I'll sue you into poverty for attempted murder!' Tatsumi shouted at her with razor-sharp teeth and a clenched fist, foreshadowing his third outburst of anger this day.

'That ain't more than your current daily near death-count, so don't pretend to be surprised, sunshine.' The girl laughed at him, while she shoved her partner into the right side of her breasts. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' The young man instantly questioned. 'Just because something can be done, doesn't make it a good, fucking idea.' The notorious alcoholic stated, releasing her comrade from her hug.

'Sure you can drink, as if there was no tomorrow, but is it a good idea? No.' Leone explained. 'She's kinda right.' The other boy added from the side, while he put his legs on the table. 'Then eat your vegetables and drink your milk next time, while the grown-ups enjoy their beer.' She countered and started to gently pat his head.

Underneath her hand Tatsumi was silently groaning and his left eye was twitching ever so slightly without his control. 'Ahhh, shit!' The boy cussed loudly, waking everyone in the base by now. He snatched the rather huge cup away from Leone's hands and chugged down the entire drink in one reckless, massive gulp, before he slammed it back on the table.

'Come on, Lubbock. Let's start training.' His student groaned, already marching towards the exit of the base with balled fists. 'Grown up my ass!' The blonde alcoholic heard the boy grunt, as he kicked the door open. The remaining assassins both looked at each other, then into the empty mug, then at the now closed door, then back at the cup again and then back at each other.

'Did that just happen?' The green-haired male questioned with an unbelieving stare, which prompted the person across the table to look back into the cup to assure herself that the recent events in front of her really took place. 'Yup, gotta get a new one.' The robbed girl sighed, as she was already on the way back to the kitchen to brew a new tea.

'Alright. I'll join up with our newbie now. And maybe hide the bottles from him for the next few days.' Lubbock announced with a very betraying and indicatively dirty grin on his face. 'Will do. And don't you dare teach him your bullshit. He's still innocent.' His colleague reciprocated untypically stern for her otherwise lenient and playful nature, while she returned to her seat and kicked back with her drink in hand.

'It's no bullshit! You just don't wanna admit that you secretly prefer mature men like me, so you're using our boy as distraction. But you can't fool me. I know you're head over heels for me.' The young man chuckled, wearing that same victorious and perverted grin whenever he successfully peeped at her, while she was bathing.

'Not even in your wettest dreams… I bet you, if I put you in bed with Bulat, he'll start liking chicks again.' The woman retaliated with a fatal combination of words and devastating imagery, which silenced the flirting pervert immediately. 'Anyway, I'm off. Have fun.' He stuttered briefly before he made a quick tactical retreat, since this was a battle lost.

'Ohhh, you'll pay for this one day, you dirty kitten. Just you wait.' The defeated assassin mumbled under his breath, already scheming together several plots for juicy vengeance. Those unfortunately had to wait though, as he had a student of his waiting for his guidance. 'Well, well, well…if that isn't only the two of us by ourselves. I'll show you the way.' The master said, rubbing his hands in anticipation.

'It's not far actually, so keep your eyes peeled.' He added. 'What are you gonna show me?' The brown-haired teen inquired, looking through the all too familiar terrain. 'In fact we're already there.' Lubbock informed his student, who eyed him quite surprised. 'But we only walked a few steps.' The recruit rightfully pointed out.

'We could go further, but that's perfectly fine for what you're about to see.' The green-haired assassin promised, kneeling down to operate on something as it appeared to his colleague. 'And what am I supposed to see? I can't see anything.' Tatsumi stated confused, while he took several looks around again in case he missed something blatantly obvious.

Ever since the boy joined the assassin guild and began training under the experienced killers, his perception was growing sharper and sharper every day he trained, but this time he had no chance of detecting what his comrade was about to reveal. 'Good. Otherwise I'd be concerned.' Lubbock returned, standing up from the grass with something in his right hand.

It was very thin and barely visible, until the sunlight made it glisten, revealing its location in Lubbock's hand. 'It's a piece of string.' The inexperienced boy stated. 'It's not just some piece of string. It's the string that protects our base.' The manga-addict corrected him, while he put it back on the ground.

'I'll be notified through the tension on 'crosstail' whenever someone steps into our territory. It's a gigantic defense net. Thanks to me you can all sleep peacefully at night.' The trap master elaborated, wearing a triumphant, self-satisfied and impossibly smug grin, while he pointed several times with his index finger to the contraption on his left arm. 'Sugoi! That's so cool! I feel so safe now.' Tatsumi shouted with sparkling eyes, admiring his guardian of the night.

'Wasn't that how you knew we had intruders?' The amazed boy asked, his hands folded together as if he was praying to someone. 'Correct, someone's done his homework there. Keep it up, because you can learn a lot from me.' Lubbock returned, standing there, gloriously towering over his apprentice like the flawless teacher he was.

'And now, I'll show you how to build some good traps.' The trap genius declared much to his student's excitement. 'Teach me, master.' Tatsumi said with those sparkling star eyes. 'Just follow me.' He ordered, heading straight towards the woods. A bit later…

'Let's practice it here. Ugh…what's that smell? As if someone just…' Lubbock pointed out, instantly reaching for his nose so the stench wouldn't enter it any further. 'Yeah. Let's just go somewhere else.' His colleague interjected, already pushing him somewhere else, so he could not detect the flushed cheeks on his face, which divulged his embarrassment. Somewhere else in the forest…

'Ok, this seems to be a good spot. What was that all about now?' The green-haired assassin questioned, eyeing his colleague closely. 'Nevermind…' He muttered with flushed cheeks. 'Anyway, I'll show you how it's done now.' The master of traps announced, already deploying some of his string to set up choking mechanisms that would work like explosive trip wire, when crossed or stepped on.

'Could you please explain what you're doing?' Tatsumi politely asked concentrated on every tiny move his mentor made. 'Uhm, yeah sure…So what I'm doing here is setting up the trap. You map out the area and you cut off your target's escape route. With this you can dictate where your target is able to go and where it will end up. Right now I'm laying out string as trip wire.' Lubbock explained, as he stepped back from the invisible construction.

It appeared to the inexperienced assassin that his comrade wired a considerable amount of space in front of them with his imperial arm. Lubbock recognized the searching and inspecting gaze of his apprentice and continued to explain the construction.

'I've set up several mechanisms to get the job done. You mostly go for constructions that disable or outright kill your target. Make sure they're not too convoluted and remember to properly obscure your traps. If they're in plain sight and easy to spot, no one will fall for them. It's as if you were hitting on women essentially.' The young man further explained, while he inspected his mounted defenses himself to see if everything was where and how it needed to be, although his utilized analogy was quite…unsettling to say the least.

'I guess that explains a lot about you…' Tatsumi thought, instinctively distancing himself from his perverted colleague by at least several meters, while his forehead was dripping with sweat. For good measure, he gathered some berries and laid them out on one point like on a silver tablet to lure potential wildlife to where he wanted.

'Baits are always nice to have when you're hunting for animals, but as for humans it's more often than not too obvious and will expose the trap. You turn from prey to hunter. Easy enough, right?' Lubbock finished his crash course on trap construction, standing there again gloriously with his self-satisfied grin. 'Yeah…sure…easy…' The other boy silently stuttered, having his eyes torn wide open and the sweat intensify on his forehead, when he reviewed the admittedly convoluted construction.

'And what are we gonna do now?' He asked, since nothing happened besides his teacher talking big. 'Actually…let's wait, until something happens.' The green-haired assassin suggested with a sweaty smile in quite anti-climatic fashion. 'Let's hide behind the bushes.' The trap master added, hinting to a nearby spot ideal for observation.

Once they were situated behind cover, they waited for their prey to take the bait. And not much later, they could perceive light steps coming from approximately 200 meters northwest. 'A deer…' Lubbock whispered into the calm forest, while the beautiful creature made slow and careful steps towards the berries, which were presented to it as if they were lying on a silver tablet.

'Now watch and learn!' He silently told his apprentice, his gazed locked onto the feasting animal and clenching his fist in anticipation on what is to ensue in several moments if everything plays out as he envisioned it.

An instant later, the deer was sent into the air by the sheer force the string gave off by releasing the tension. Within moments the animal was strangled dead after a bit of a struggle and hung from the tree motionless. 'Gotcha!' The successful hunter exclaimed while he let down the poor creature. 'Wow. It seems you really knew what you were doing the whole time.' Tatsumi stated, looking at the dead animal and then at his colleague with wide and impressed eyes.

'Of course! But that was nothing. You see those strings all around here?' The trap connoisseur asked, as he tugged at one of the countless wires, which were on maximal tension to make them more visible for his far less experienced pupil. Step back! I'll show you what would've happened if the first one didn't work.' Lubbock commanded, already dragging Tatsumi behind the bushes for safety.

He chugged a decent sized stone at the end of a string, triggering the entire mechanism. Suddenly the apprentice watched in awe how the wires explosively releasing all of their tension, leaving recognizable traces of their destructive path on the solid and robust trees around them within the instant, in which the entire construction went off.

The two of them waited until the cutting noises ceased around them, so they themselves wouldn't be in any danger of being sliced and diced like cubed cheese. 'Wow!' The brown-haired boy exclaimed. 'I used the wires as swift, razor sharp blades. One of my favorites.' The manga-addict revealed with a wide and satisfied grin, while he retrieved all the string and rearranged it with 'crosstail'.

'It seems you really outdid yourself!' The younger of the two assumed very wide-eyed. 'Nah! Piece of cake.' Lubbock shrugged as if building such a masterpiece of a trap was the easiest thing in the world, although his imperial arm was quite helpful to set up this cluster of highly lethal, razor sharp cutting wires without extreme effort and preparation.

'Those traces are pretty deep…you think they could have cut through one of the trees?' Tatsumi asked, as he traced his right hand over the deep cuts, which severely damaged the thick and otherwise robust tree trunk. 'Maybe…who knows?' The other assassin, who caused this returned with his back towards the whole scenery. The unsuspecting boy didn't do a lot, but a moment later the whole tree was about to collapse on him and almost crushed him under its massive weight.

'Dah!' Tatsumi yelled, his eyes almost popping out of his skull, after he narrowly dodged the falling tree crashing down on him. 'You almost got me killed!' He screeched at his colleague, who was just casually standing there, as if nothing happened. 'I'll sue you into poverty for attempted murder!' The boy shouted with edged, monstrous teeth for the third time this day.

'Gee! First Akame, then Leone and now me…I wonder who's gonna be next.' Lubbock chuckled. 'You think this is funny?' Tatsumi questioned with a balled fist and furious flames in the background. 'Kinda. It's funny when you're losing it.' The green-haired boy responded, having a mischievous grin on his face, which would only further evoke his comrade's blind rage.

'Anyway, it's your turn now. Try to build a decent trap and catch something with it.' The string warrior instructed, patting his apprentice on the shoulder in order to motivate him further. 'Alright…but what do I do?' The newbie questioned, scratching his head tilted to the left, having question marks above.

'Since you're new to this whole thing, I'd say you build a plain and simple pitfall trap.' Lubbock suggested with a shrug as if it was the easiest and most trivial thing in the world to do. 'Sounds easy enough.' He nodded. 'Now you just need a target…oh look! This guy over here will do just fine.' The teacher stated, pointing at the rabbit that just passed their field of operation.

'Aw!' Tatsumi said, zipping over to the small animal. The boy took it and rushed back to Lubbock. 'Why would you wanna hurt him? Look at him!' The brown-haired assassin asked with glassy eyes, while he held the rabbit to his companion. 'I mean…yeah, but this will have to do.' He insisted, pushing Tatsumi's hands back to his chest to signalize him what needed to be done.

'But he's so cute!' The young man argued, lifting up the beautiful creature, while it flapped its ears and gave its predator the most innocent and most adorable look that could make anyone have bad feelings for even thinking about harming it. 'Come on, dude…Are you serious now?' The hunter sighed in defeat and closed his eyes, as he couldn't bear both of their hopeful gazes.

'He needs to be patted and protected! This is animal abuse! How dare you?!' Tatsumi yelled, pulling the rabbit close to him into a protective hug to shield it from the green-haired assassin. 'But you had no problem, when I hung that deer, you hypocritical moron!' Lubbock screamed back at the two of them, causing them to break out in panic and whine in fear.

'Don't worry, little soldier. I won't let him hurt you.' The upset boy, whispered to his new friend in order to soothe him, while he gently stroked the head of the rabbit. 'Ugh, whatever… just build a trap. I don't care, if you catch anything…stupid idiots…' The other assassin gave in, mumbling the last part of his phrase rather to himself.

'Yay!' They both exclaimed, giving each other a high five, which moments later culminated into a full blown celebration. 'Oi, when you idiots are done, could you start doing something actually constructive with your lives?' The poor mentor questioned with his posture awfully tilted forward and his arms to the sides, while his expectant stare was locked on his animal-friendly colleague, who was still dancing with his small, new friend.

'Uhm, yeah. Sure.' The student replied, as he snapped out of his frenzy of absolute happiness and relief. He slowly started digging a deep enough hole into the ground, while the other two viewed him. 30 minutes later…

The assassins were heading back to base after their training was finished, Tatsumi with the rabbit comfortably resting on his arms. Lubbock on the other hand though was just marching straight forward without looking back at them. 'Did I do well?' The brown haired teenager asked from behind. 'The trap itself was good…' His teacher stated, continuing on with his march.

'But?' The flustered apprentice inquired, as he couldn't figure out any legitimate reason for the lack of communication for the past 30 minutes, which he interpreted as dissatisfaction. 'You didn't catch anything. No, what do you do? You caught yourself, baka!' The trap master clarified unable to hold back some laughter. 'But I guess you did just well enough.' He added.

'So training for today is finished?' Tatsumi assumed. 'Yeah.' Lubbock instantly replied. 'Alright, then I can try to find a place for him.' The animal friend formulated, again gently patting the head of the rabbit, which was followed by a cute noise of it. 'At least someone's happy.' The manga-addict pouted in response, as he kept trudging forward.

'But one thing is certain. He isn't coming home with us.' Lubbock stated, turning to them with a stern and serious stare. 'Why? It's not like he'd do anything.' The boy asked clueless and flustered. 'Can you take on Akame yet?' The green-haired assassin questioned, after he approached him and grabbed both of his upper arms.

'Hell, no. Why?' Night Raid's newcomer replied, still awfully confused, as to what all this could have to do with the notorious glutton. 'If she sees this thing running around in our base, it won't even take a second until she puts it on the stove. And she will stop at nothing to get that thing on her plate and into her belly.' Lubbock reminded him brutally honest, pointing with his left index finger at their endangered companion.

'Wahhh!' Both of them whined, jumping up and instantly raising their arms in shock as they faced the undisputable facts. 'He's right…' Tatsumi whispered to the rabbit and knelt down let it on the ground. 'It's time to say goodbye…It's the best for you.' The boy muttered close to tears (not really), while he gently patted the rabbit's head for a final time.

The small animal lowered its ears and let out a low, melancholic purr, as it rubbed its left cheek against the assassin's right leg. 'Sentimental simpletons…' The green-haired stammered at the side. The rabbit also approached the other assassin and rubbed its cheek against his right leg too, startling Lubbock before it ran off into the wide world.

'I think he took a liking to you.' Tatsumi affirmed with a small smile. 'Ugh, whatever…I got more important stuff to do than this sentimental crap.' The other young man mumbled, already a fair distance away from his apprentice, as he had no more time to waste with him, since he had more 'serious matters' to attend to.

'Hold on a second!' He shouted out, sprinting backwards to his new partner as a devious scheme unveiled itself inside his perverted mind. 'Tell me, Tatsumi…How good are you with the ladies?' The manga-addict demanded with an unsettling, bright grin.

'Good enough, I think.' The virgin responded, already dreading what kind of plot has formed itself inside his master. 'I can work with that!' The green-eyed pervert said, while his left arm slowly snaked around the boy's neck in clandestine, almost conspirative manner. 'I just decided to extend our training session for a while.' Lubbock announced, followed up by a classic evil laughter mixed up with some perversion. Later in the capital…

The two young men were slowly strolling through the crowded streets of the ginormous city like predators locating and choosing their prey. While Tatsumi still struggled to memorize the major parts of the way too huge city, Lubbock was already looking out for potential targets and every 30 seconds the innocent young man could hear his comrade blurt out things like 'Damn, she's hot!' or 'Look at her 'assets'!', which at first he replied to with a rather disengaged and emotionless 'uhu'

'A solid 8 out of 10' The self-proclaimed playboy evaluated, taking a last look at her backside after a young teen-aged, fairly tanned blonde with a rather petite stature, but considerable cleavage and azure eyes passed them. 'Isn't it a kind of asshole thing to do to grade women solely on their looks through numbers?' The other assassin questioned, now giving his chasing companion his undivided attention.

'Duh, I mean yeah, but it's a quick and reliable method of assessment. And let's not pretend like the girls aren't doing it too.' Lubbock argued quite factually, as he shrugged off his moral concerns despite the whole thing being ridiculous. 'Anyway, you know your duty?' He asked his partner with a dirty grin. 'I think…you called it 'wingman'. So all I do, is talk to random cute girls and tell them how awesome you are, right?' The virgin asked for conformation, as he broke down the plan to the most basic parts.

'Exactly. Don't be shy. Feel free to exaggerate. Them chicks believe anything these days.' The girl-chasing pervert added with a triumphant chuckle, while he kneaded his wingman's shoulders as if he prepared him for an important fight. 'Alright…asshole' Tatsumi responded, thinking the latter part of his sentence to himself, while they kept on searching for the ideal target.

They continued walking until they passed a poorly lit alley from which a young female voice could clearly be heard asking for immediate aid, yet her cry for help was ignored by the countless citizens passing by. The assassins could see how two boys of their age and way taller and stronger than the rather small and fragile woman closed in on her and pushed her up against the wall of the building behind her.

'Don't hurt me…please!' The silver-haired begged with small tears in her eyes and her hands folded together, but to no avail. 'We won't hurt you. We'll have a lot of fun. First I and then him.' One of them affirmed to her, tracing over her smooth right cheek with his index finger, while he closed the distance and began to tug at her blue dress to open it.

'Alright, you take left, I take right. And then you disappear as fast as possible, so I can be her savior.' Lubbock strategized, rubbing his hands in anticipation. 'He's the only one who thinks about that in a situation like this…asshole.' The sword-wielder thought, as they charged the molesters.

He could see the other guy being instantly caught up in string and lifted up the roof of the building. The other assassin used the moment of shock and confusion on the end of the remaining molester and placed a fast punch into the solar plexus of the teenager, causing him to collapse together. He instantly dragged his target around the corner in the back of the alley and put his right hand on the boy's mouth to silence him, while Tatsumi firmly held him in a choke hold.

After a few moments of struggle, the young male fell unconscious due to the lack of oxygen. The Night Raid member backed off and made sure to disappear like a shadow as Lubbock told him to do, so he could play the knight in shining armor.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see the girl change from her defensive position with both of her arms up for her protection and her face turned away, as she braced herself for what she dreaded would happen to her, to a relieved embrace when she saw her green-clad savior give her the cutest of smiles.

'Have your fun, pervert…' Tatsumi thought, unable to hold back a small chuckle, as he headed back to the Night Raid base. Back at the base…

The boy returned to the hideout of his employer and saw his sweat-drenched colleague Bulat practice his mighty sequences with a wooden training bouken. 'Hey.' The tall man greeted, when he saw his apprentice in the corner of his eyes, while the former soldier effortlessly performed fluid swings that could knock anyone unconscious if he only used half of his physical strength.

'Hi. I see you're training again, bro.' Tatsumi pointed out. 'Sure, you gotta stay in shape, man. Care for a match?' The staff-wielder questioned, pointing at his potential sparring partner with his staff as a smirk formed on his face. 'Sure!' Bulat's student agreed, as he still had practice to do for the day.

Once he got back into training attire, the swordfighter grabbed two katana shaped training swords, which earned a curious gaze from his mentor as to what this was supposed to lead up to. 'I'm trying something new. I don't feel comfortable anymore with only one sword.' The still learning and improving assassin resolved, as he tried to figure out an appropriate stance for his 'new' weapon of choice.

'Maybe try to straighten up your back, when you're doing this. Otherwise you're too susceptible to counterattacks. And make sure you stand secure. It should feel natural.' Bulat advised, seeing his student cluelessly switch around with his feet and reposition them every so often. The experienced warrior came on over and laid his arms around his apprentice to correct and further guide him.

'Which one is your strong hand?' He asked. 'Right.' The apprentice quickly responded. 'Then you should put your left leg in front.' Bulat suggested as calm and slow as always, when he explained something about fighting so the newly deemed assassin could actually grasp what he was talking about and put it into action.

Then he moved Tatsumi's shirtless upper body a bit back so it would be centered and not slightly leaning forward as he used to with one sword style. 'And? How does it feel?' The one-hundred-men slayer asked with an untypically low voice close to his ears.

'You're right. It feels more natural now. I think you can take your hands away from me now…I think I got it.' The young man stammered with flushed cheeks, as he could feel his comrade's hands practically glued to his chest.

And said man instantly removed his hands as if he was caught red-handed. 'Uhm…errr…I don't know the weapon though. I can only teach you fundamentals. Akame might be more knowledgeable on this, but in the end it's on you to figure everything out and to get comfortable with your weapon. It's gonna be a gigantic workload for you. Sure you wanna do this?' His mentor reaffirmed quite serious, yet interested in his apprentice's reply.

'People always want the easy way or they give up, but I'm not like this! I'm ready to work my ass off with all the fire in my soul!' Tatsumi announced, when he tightly gripped the hilt of his right katana, raising it towards the sky. 'Now that's what I wanna hear!' Bulat shouted back and fistbumped with him.

The staff wielder initiated with a strong but rather slow side-swing, which his opponent blocked with both of his swords on the spot. Not really knowing what to do next, he tried to catch Bulat with a double side-slash, but the tall man evaded with a single backdash. Then Tatsumi followed it up with an overhead downwards cleave, which was easily blocked and countered by a precise string of swift spear movements aimed at his face, upper arms and hands.

Somehow and barely the teenager managed to bring up his blades to his defense and block just in time. Not even an instant later, Bulat slashed downwards directly towards his head. The sword fighter caught the swing with both of his swords crossed over his head. 'It must be pretty boring going up against me.' The newling figured over the course of their training sessions.

'Yeah, but I have the feeling that once we trained ya up a bit, you'll be a scary opponent.' The Incursio-wielder returned with a little chuckle. Knowing that he couldn't withstand his mentor's sheer physical might for much longer as he pushed down against him, Tatsumi managed to parry the staff just enough to the left, but left himself wide-open for a counterattack.

'You're too static.' The former soldier let him know before he hit the boy's upper left thigh, causing him to slump together. Then another strike against his upper arm to throw him completely off balance and finally the last strike hit his dome perfectly, which knocked him down on the ground. 'I won again.' The tall man chuckled with one end of his staff pointing at Tatsumi's throat.

'Ouch…why always on the head…I'll sue you into poverty for attempted murder…' The smaller of the two whined on the ground, while he rubbed the big bump on his head. 'You need to improve your footwork. Otherwise you're not taking advantage of your weapon and you're gonna be a too easy target.' The teacher asserted to the boy who was now sitting and listening.

'Ok! Then I know what to work on.' His student replied with a nod of his head. 'Maybe you shouldn't have used katanas instead of normal swords though, since you have to be extremely precise with them.' The experienced soldier suggested. 'Yeah, probably…I bet Akame could pull it off no problem. She's a machine…' Tatsumi agreed, looking down at his hands, which still held the two wooden weapons.

'But you need to see that she has had way more battles, way more training and way more experience than you.' Bulat added. 'Yeah, but still…I just wanna win against you and her once. Fair and square…' The recently joined Night Raid assassin stated with that deep and focused gaze again, whenever he puts his mind to something.

'Nothing's for free. You need to put in the work for that. And I'll be waiting to see the results.' The battle-hardened warrior reminded him with his arms folded together. 'Speaking of which…I should pay her a visit, since I told her we'd train later.' The boy expressed. 'Then don't let her wait. I'll be working out for some more.' Bulat answered, already grabbing his staff which was lying down next to him.

'Sure. And thanks for the advice.' Tatsumi said with a polite bow. 'Don't mention it. That's what bros are for.' He chuckled and blinked towards him with his left eye. Inside the base…

At first the young warrior was searching for his crimson-eyed companion in the only logical place she'd be. The kitchen. But as he couldn't find her there, he looked for her in the next most logical room. The dining room. And indeed, he found her there, munching on an impressive mountain of evilbird drumsticks.

The assassin couldn't be fooled though and thus he seized his opportunity. 'Hey…' He greeted from behind. The young man appeared to be visibly worn down and overall just in need of refreshment, the meat-addict concluded as she studied him. 'Mind if I eat some too? I'm starving.' He asked and sat down next to her, making it two who'd stare down a mountain of delicious, perfectly cooked meat.

'Sure. Feel free to eat.' Akame answered with her mouth full of juicy, tasty meat that she hunted and fried herself. 'Thanks. Wow, that's so good.' Tatsumi moaned, already having 3 drumsticks in his mouth. Within an instant the mountain of flesh became a pile bones and their otherwise normal stomachs turned into round, over-dimensioned balls.

Shortly afterwards the boy grabbed a glass of water and gulped it down in one chug, which made his beer belly disappear and all of a sudden his biceps exploded to the point that the veins couldn't be overlooked on his right arm, which was now even more muscular than Bulat's. (Damn doping xD)

'Ahhh! That was great.' He said, slumping back into his chair. 'Would you like to help me practice, please?' The satiated assassin asked quite reinvigorated. 'We should prepare dinner first.' The glutton reminded him, giving him her blank stare again. 1 hour later…

After they made the necessary preparations for dinner, the assassins gathered at the training grounds. 'Now that I'm sober I should be able to do better this time…' Tatsumi pointed out with a sweaty smile, shortly before his female mentor tossed him his training swords. 'Ready?' She asked already in her stance, waiting to decimate her newest colleague for another time.

'Alright…left leg in front, straight back, shorter swings and better movement.' The Nitorryu-scrub thought, as he tried to remember everything Bulat has said previously. 'Let's go.' He said now perfectly in his stance, waiting for the inevitable and relentless assault of the 'Murasame'-wielder.

In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance and opened with a swift series of deadly and precise cuts aimed at her opponent's chest. As always the student was helplessly overwhelmed, so he just tried to follow her blade and parry her perfectly placed strikes. To make matters painstakingly worse, the superior sword-fighter locked him down, making it impossible for him to take advantage of his movement.

'I should have practiced some sequences beforehand.' Tatsumi lamented, once he managed to push her back slightly. 'My movement is horrendous.' He added instead of starting an actual counterattack. 'You can't afford to casually chat during a fight.' Akame briefly reprimanded him with a sharp and cold version of her otherwise neutral stare, while she took his missed opportunity and kept her assault going with a fast diagonal downwards slash.

'Uhm…yeah. You're right. Sorry.' The apprentice awkwardly apologized. Maybe this was one of her ways to intensify the training and make it feel more realistic, so her sparring partner. Or maybe it was one of her ways to subtly tell the still naive boy to shut up for once. Most likely the latter. And if he was honest with himself he too would find it more than annoying if someone ran his or her mouth during a fight when he needed to concentrate, especially when he had to fend off another one of her onslaughts like right now.

And not even a few moments later, she overwhelmed him again with her prowess, finishing him off, with a cut against his right thigh, which made him stagger and then sent him to the ground with a sweep.

'Wow, this was…pathetic…' The male teenager assessed quite accurate to his performance. 'You are too passive.' The crimson eyed girl told him, who was sitting down with his head in between his legs. 'I know…' He groaned, burying his face even deeper. 'Your movement needs improvement and you're just too slow in general.' Akame bluntly stated, eyeing him with her blank stare again.

'The first step to overcoming your weaknesses is to know about them. That, you do well.' She added, giving her pupil some sort of credit or solace. 'I need to get comfortable with the weapon. Let me do a few sequences please.' Tatsumi said, standing up from his disheartened position and picking up his swords.

The determined assassin slowly swung his blades in rather slow and careful, but fluid motions. He showed off several combinations of up, down and side slashes. 'Your swordsmanship is perfect. Straight by the book.' The female sword fighting expert described upon having had her share of his display.

'Does this mean something good?' The brown-haired boy asked himself, since he learned to always take her compliments with a grain of salt, because there was almost always a catch she added. 'This doesn't work in a real fight. You need to be able to adapt to the situation.' His mentor elaborated, while she too readied herself for a second fight.

'Knew it!' He thought inside himself. 'I just take way too long to even do something or even think about what I wanna do…And coordinating all of it is another problem of its own. This should all happen by itself.' The exhausted man accounted, taking his stance.

'You lack practice.' The black-clad woman replied briefly. 'Ready?' He asked, to which she replied with a nod. This time Tatsumi tried to pressure her more by attacking as fast as he possibly could and it worked in the first moments of the fight. But not much later, he was lying on the ground again.

'What was it this time?' The student sighed. 'You overextended. You left yourself too open.' Akame informed him, while she helped him to get up on his feet again. 'I see. Let's go again.' The boy said already back in stance for another round.

'Wow, this is hard.' The male assassin thought, instinctively biting on his lips when he could feel the weight of his swords and even more so when he swung them with as much velocity as possible. And time and time again he failed to make his companion break a sweat, but with each failure he came closer to it.

His adversary swung at him with a diagonal downwards slash from left to right, which the boy parried with his left sword above his head. Seeing his opportunity to seize his first victory, he prodded his other katana forward in an attempt to pierce her chest and destroy her respiratory system (hypothetically of course, god forbid xD), but he didn't account for her incredible movement and speed.

The experienced assassin made a swift sidestep, evading his thrust and took her sword away from his. And even before he knew what happened, she was behind him with her blade at his throat. 'What just happened?' The boy instantly questioned, as he felt cheated and stolen a win that he felt was rightfully his. 'I used movement to circumvent your defense. You were too assured of your victory.' The kendo-master reviewed plain and simple, as there was not more to it.

'I get it. You're too good for me.' Tatsumi pouted with his arms folded together. 'You are improving. Keep at it.' Akame encouraged him, seeing as his movements became slightly faster and more precise. 'I could feel it towards the end of this battle. My arms were moving by themselves.' The apprenticed reported, gazing past his wooden katanas to the setting sun, which painted the cloudless sky in a beautiful mixture of blue and a gentle touch of red.

This thoughtful moment of silence was broken by a loud and unmistakable grunt. 'Are you serious?! You just ate a mountain of evilbird…' The young man questioned with wide eyes and mouth agape. 'I am hungry.' The crimson-eyed glutton declared with her blank and emotionless stare that left no room for argument. 'There's no way in hell this is healthy!' The astounded boy yelled at her, pointing at her with his index finger in accusing manner.

'Did I gain weight?' Akame asked, taking a brief look at her slim, feminine waist. 'No! That's not what I wanted to say. You're in perfect shape. Errr….That's also not what I meant either…it's been a long day…' Tatsumi sighed with flushed and puffed up checks, while he focused his gaze on the leaves which were lying on the ground.

'See you in the kitchen, baka.' The starved teenager chuckled, when she turned her back to him and made her way to her desired destination, which was the bathroom. 'Who are you calling an idiot? Idiot.' Her comrade loudly retorted, violently waving his balled fist through the air. 'You, you idiot.' The raven-haired woman confirmed as she kept on walking forward, leaving him with no ability to respond. 'This woman I swear…' He groaned. Later…

After a refreshing bath and a wholesome dinner, Tatsumi headed to the kitchen again in search of some leftovers before he would call it a day and grant himself some rest. Once he retrieved a bowl of ramen with vegetables and pieces of meat, he passed the living room, coming across his vanished green-haired colleague going through what he fondly calls 'enjoyable literature'. 'Did you have your fun?' The younger of the two asked, raising his left eyebrow and folding his arms together.

'Sure did.' The notorious pervert responded with an utterly dirty smirk. 'Anyway, I'm gonna eat now.' Tatsumi declared with the bowl in hand. 'Wanna relax in my room? You can eat it there.' Lubbock offered, laying his hentai manga aside. 'Sure, why not.' He agreed. In Lubbock's room…

'This is how the genius lives.' The here residing adult introduced with a prideful grin. Posters of lasciviously dressed women, who did not shy away from presenting themselves to innocent eyes were pinned to the walls of his quarters and a huge collection of mangas were orderly stacked in form of a pyramid next to his bed.

The colors didn't deviate too much from his own room, except for the green blanket and pillows. He also had a few skimpy magazines scrambled across the floor and his desk, showing off their inappropriate content. Unfortunately, for the sake of this chapter these too had to be censored.

'It's pretty nice considering it's you who lives here.' Tatsumi replied after having taken a few looks into the pervert's den. 'I'll take that as a compliment.' The inhabitant laughed. 'You read a lot of stuff.' The guest pointed out, as he skimmed through a few of those, which were piled up.

'Sure. Did you expect anything less?' The manga-addict questioned upon having his collection inspected. 'Oh! What does this guy do?' The newly joined Night Raid assassin, who was a manga fan himself asked intrigued, pointing to a tall man, who did something with strings and wore a huge, devious grin alongside a pink feather coat and sunglasses it appeared.

'That's Doflamingo from One piece. He's a major antagonist and his devil fruit ability is fighting with strings. From guys like him I can get neat, little inspirations on how to use good, ol' 'crosstail'.' The connoisseur informed him, as if he missing a big piece of culture that he should have caught up to by now.

'Oh, that's cool! You're not as one-dimensional as I thought.' Tatsumi complimented him. 'Who are you calling one-dimensional? Simp.' The green-haired Otaku countered with a smug grin. 'You, you simpleton.' The sword fighter reciprocated with a smirk of his own.

'And I thought you'd only read hentai.' The brown-haired boy added. 'I'll show you!' The string manipulator, whose credibility as manga and anime fan was being put into question countered with a triumphant fist.

'These are all the current mangas I'm reading. And over there is my collection of 'enjoyable literature'.' Lubbock detailed, coincidentally holding a hentai manga in his left hand. 'Pervert…' The other boy mumbled. 'Ay, you gotta stay knowledgeable. These magazines are pretty helpful. They tell all the stuff you want to know about women. You can learn a lot from those.' The self-announced playboy revealed with a stained grin, stretching out the article to his colleague.

'No, thanks…' Tatsumi refused, moving it back to Lubbock, earning a scrutinizing gaze from his partner. 'So you know how to do 'it', you little, innocent virgin?' The more 'experienced' of the two young men questioned, getting suspiciously close and to overstate his scrutiny, he eyed him with a wide left eye.

'Come on, man…' The virgin stammered, averting his gaze from his pushy colleague. 'I made it my mission to educate you!' He insisted ferociously, leaving the other boy speechless. 'That's all going on up there in your little brain, huh?' Tatsumi yelled back with razor sharp teeth. 'Later on, you'll thank me! Just you wait and see!' The reader of those ridiculous and unadulterated articles guaranteed him.

'Anyway, sit down and enjoy yourself.' The host said, pointing towards the chair of his desk behind him. 'Where did you get these from? They rarely sell them in our village and when they do they're way too expensive.' The boy with emerald eyes inquired, as grabbed himself the nearest manga and sat down.

It said: 'Nanatsu no taizai Chapter 1'. On the cover was a smirking young, almost midget-height small, blonde boy holding a green, oddly-shaped sword standing in the foreground and on the left a young, silver-haired woman, wearing a short skirt and a light-purple to pink blouse, who was also smiling and jumping was being featured. Oddly enough, there was also a pink, fat pig jumping around in the right corner.

'I own a book store. I can tell you, they're selling like hotcakes.' Lubbock resolved, slacking off on his bed. 'What did you take? Ah, seven deadly sins. Excellent choice.' The manga-connoisseur evaluated. 'I don't know much about it. I just heard, when we we're strolling around in the capital that the fight between Meliodas and Escanor was a big joke and people were pissed.' Tatsumi recalled, while he skimmed through the pages.

'Yeah…the animations were trash, but it's still an amazing story.' The light green-haired teenager responded, tossing his light-green trench coat to the left side of his bed. 'How much do you want for it?' Tatsumi asked, while he searched for his wallet in his pockets. 'I'll give you a 1-month free trial and if you're satisfied you can get a monthly subscription.' The owner of his own bookstore offered untypically generous.

'You're the best!' The manga lover exclaimed with stars in his eyes and a mouth wide open. 'I know.' His comrade agreed, wearing a self-satisfied grin across his face. 'Wait a second…What do you want in return?' The assassin demanded, since he learned the hard way that nothing on this earth was for free.

'Well…I have an idea that could earn us a lot of cash and I want to include you into it…' Lubbock admitted, rubbing his hands at the prospect of how much profit he could potentially make. 'No, I won't be your prostitute!' The flustered young man preemptively blurted out to prevent any sort of nonsense of this caliber.

'What the…No, I want to write a fantasy story and draw a manga. That's where you come in. You make for excellent protagonist material, so I need you as model for my manga.' Lubbock fully explained to calm down his partner's wild imagination. 'Oh, if it's just that, then ok.' The potential main character of Lubbock's planned manga sighed in relief.

'And if it sells well enough, I'll give a percentage of our profit. Deal?' The businessman offered by stretching out his hand for a handshake. 'Deal!' Tatsumi agreed, taking his partner's hand to seal the agreement. 'And what's the story about if I may ask?' The model asked with wide eyes.

'I think it plays in feudal Japan and it will be about our protagonist Ashura. I don't wanna spoil anything. But I think I'll keep it rather dark. There'll be a lot of grit and fight scenes. The antagonists systematically killed Ashura's people for centuries because they're demons basically. And we'll go from there then. There'll also be ethical and political issues included, as well as some very sad scenes.' The writer depicted without trying to spoil major scenes.

'Sounds quite interesting.' The listener stated quite surprised, since he would have assumed his comrade would be prevalent in another genre. Namely doujins. 'Oh! And also some awesome rage moments. You can't forget about them rage moments.' Lubbock snickered, waving his index finger back and forth.

'And what kind of guy is he?' The boy asked with curiosity in his emerald green eyes. 'Hmm, I think, he's mostly stone cold, except when he's angry and just losing it. He only trusts a select few people. For them he'd do anything though.' The assassin reviewed. 'And you think I could play such a role?' Tatsumi asked again with wide eyes.

'I'm sure you have it in you.' His companion assured him, giving him a pat on the head. 'If you say so…' The supposed main character muttered. 'Imagine if we were the seven deadly sins.' The brown-haired teenager said, while he enjoyed reading through the first chapter. 'Sure…we all know who Gluttony would be.' Lubbock responded, as a big grin formed on his face.

'Yeah, that one goes to Akame…' The other Night Raid member giggled. 'I think pride should go to bro.' The boy added as next sin, as he unconsciously fell into the classic thinker pose. 'Hm, yeah I mean he's gay. Could also go to Mine though, but I think it fits more to Bulat because he's tall and muscular.' The green-haired man agreed. 'What's next? Let's take Lust.' He continued with the game.

'Onee-san.' Tatsumi instantaneously answered, as his association immediately shifted to the playful and busty blonde pressing her impressive melons against the boy's face. 'Agree 100%.' His colleague approved. 'Sloth…hmm. That one could go to Sheele, since she does no chores here, but I think it suits you best.' The guest stated, pointing his index finger at his host.

'You're calling me lazy?!' Lubbock questioned surprised. 'You never train, you like slacking off, so yeah sure. At least Sheele wants to do stuff.' The sword-wielding assassin detailed as reasoning for his choice. 'Uhm, you're closer to the bottle. Be so good and pour us in something to drink.' The accused couch potato ordered, pointing to the half-empty bottle of sake and two glasses, while he enjoyed the comfort of his bed.

'See?' His comrade pointed out as he executed his given orders. 'Ahhh…fine, you won…' The green-haired assassin conceded, admitting to being indeed slothful. 'Next would be greed. That could be…' Tatsumi continued, while he poured in his opposite some Sake. 'Mine. She can't stop shopping and she loves money.' The Otaku replied instantly, being fortunate enough to not have been victim of her shopping sprees.

'Yeah, makes sense. Next up is envy.' His partner consented before he returned to thinking. 'Could be Sheele, since she'd really like to help and do chores likes us. Maybe she envies us for that.' Night Raid's cook suggested. 'Yeah, I think that works.' Lubbock said, downing his first drink already.

'What's left?' The brown-haired young man asked. 'Gluttony, pride, Lust, sloth, greed, envy…' The other man silently counted on his fingers. 'Wrath.' He concluded as it was the last sin missing. 'Who could that be?' The clueless boy asked. 'Well, duh, you obviously.' Lubbock replied, while he poured them the second round of sake. 'Really?' The supposed sin of wrath put into question.

'Trust me. You have it in you. We just need to push the right buttons.' The older assassin stated, patting his colleague on the head again. 'Stop ruining my hair!' He yelled with razor-sharp teeth and a balled fist, whose fury could burst a boulder to pieces. 'See?' Lubbock rhetorically asked, giggling triumphantly as he was applying the same exact logic like his comrade before.

'I guess…' The boy conceded. 'That little game was kinda fun I gotta admit.' The slothful assassin snickered. 'Ay, you know those weirdoes way longer than I do, so you should know better than I.' Tatsumi returned with a raised eyebrow and his arms folded together. 'You joined us, so you're a weirdo too now!' His partner in crime reminded him, giving him a thumbs-up, which earned a roll of his eyes.

'How did someone like you join Night Raid anyway?' The recent addition to the assassin guild asked. 'Because of Miss Najenda.' He replied briefly, which made his younger colleague's left eyebrow rise up in surprise. 'You mean the boss? How come you're this close to her.' The employee of Night Raid repeated for clarification.

'You see…back in the day when I was a kid I had everything I wanted and I was the best at everything…' The 'crosstail'-wielder started, remembering his childhood vividly as if it happened yesterday thanks to the woman he now refers to as 'Miss Najenda'. 'You had it rough…' Tatsumi groaned with eyes and mouth like black, flat bars. (-_- exactly like this)

'Then one day, she was assigned to be my personal guard. Love on first sight, at least on my part. In order to be closer to her, I joined the army and quickly rose through the ranks. When she left the army, I faked my death, so I could be with her. That's how I joined Night Raid.' Lubbock revealed, wearing an untypically genuine and nostalgic smile that heavily deviated from his average dirty smirk.

'Wow…that's some serious commitment. Did you confess to her already?' The young man on the other side asked heavily surprised that his perverted brother in arms could hold such a deep motive. 'No, I guess…it's unrequited love…' The green-haired assassin denied with shrug.

'Get the fuck outta here with this bullshit! You just fear rejection, that's why you search for an excuse, so you can keep on 'having your fun' with all these chicks in the capital. Get over it and grow up, dude!' Tatsumi raised his voice to scold the boy in front of him. 'Says the virgin.' The player countered as a matter of fact with a smug grin.

'But you're right, but I don't think the time is now.' He sighed, closing his eyes. 'Anyway, now that you've been with us for a good week, who's your favorite?' Lubbock wanted to know, while he suggestively pointed to himself with his index finger. 'You're all crazy.' The newest addition to Night Raid stated bluntly, having a monotone stare that could be compared to Akame's at times.

'And one day, I'll sue you all into poverty for attempted murder.' The teenager added. 'But…I like all of you…except for Mine. Her I can't stand.' The boy admitted, as his cheeks slightly reddened. 'Ay, I don't blame you. She's difficult to deal with sometimes.' The string manipulator conceded and poured them the fourth round of sake.

'Sometimes?' The assassin in training repeated, inching closer to his colleague, implying the obvious. 'Yeah, maybe a bit more than sometimes.' He agreed with a sweaty chuckle. 'I mean the boss is pretty nice and you seem to be an alright dude.' Tatsumi began to evaluate his crew members with a thoughtful expression, so he wouldn't say anything wrong or highly offending.

'Alright, dude?! Come on, man! I taught you life today!' His teacher of this day reiterated to remind what great things he did for his student. 'I just know you for a week, so what do I know!' He justified.

'Anyway, Sheele is actually one of the nicest and sweetest people I've ever known. She's clumsy at times but she tries her best.' Tatsumi continued, wearing a small smile as turned to the purple-haired airhead. 'Yeah, she's really sweet.' The other Night Raid member approved.

'Onee-san is a lot of fun to hang around with. And it's kinda funny when she hugs me. Her boobs always press against my face.' The brown-haired boy depicted with a giggle at the end. 'I'd kill for even one of those. You don't know what kind of privilege that is. And for achieving that so consistently, I salute you, comrade. You've earned my respect.' The pervert solemnly declared with the aforementioned gesture of saluting to him.

'And bro is the coolest. He's completely relaxed and I appreciate how much he teaches me and tries to help me get better at this whole thing.' The recruit expressed, as a genuine smile formed across his cheeks. 'Yeah, he's a chill guy. Definitely one of my favorites here.' The manga-addict approved. 'But that leaves a question…' Tatsumi asserted, as he raised his hands, which were pressed together in front of his mouth and his eyes highly concentrated on Lubbock.

'How did bro turn gay?' He asked relieving his focused stare into a rather blank face. 'Well…he served in the army so it doesn't really surprise me.' His comrade replied with a shrug again. 'How so?' The young man demanded.

'You know…it's the army, there's a lot of dudes, there's a lot of stress, there's barely any girls around, so you just gotta suck it up and take one for the team!' Lubbock explained, using very suggestive and probably highly accurate imagery, while he raised his right thumb accompanied by a stupid grin, causing his guest to break out in laughter.

'Suck it up and take one for the team! Hahahaha.' Tatsumi uncontrollably laughed, while he wiped away his tears and fidgeted around inside the wooden chair, almost falling off of it. 'I gotta give it to you. Your sense of humor is on point.' The laughing assassin complimented, still busy to hold in his puddle.

'You know what they say about humor. It's like food. Not everyone has it.' He joked with that same stupid grin, making his companion completely lose it. 'You're such an ass.' The teenager, who himself hasn't grown up in utter wealth or any sort of prosperous circumstances by any structure of the imagination, managed to express in between his laughter.

'One stone a day, keeps the gay away.' Lubbock busted out on top of his already dark sense of humor, making it not a bad idea to bring flashlights for his jokes. 'Please, no more!' He could make out from what he could hear from his partner, before the green haired assassin granted him a few moments to gather himself, so Tatsumi wouldn't suffocate.

'I don't get why gay people aren't allowed to marry. They should have the right to feel as miserable as anybody else.' The funny guy added on top to completely blow out his guest with comedy. 'Please, you're killing me!' The helpless boy begged, holding up his flat, left hand in order to stop him.

'And what about Akame?' The 'crosstail'-wielder questioned, once they were both calm and collected again. 'In fact, you passed the majority of your time here with her.' He pointed out, quite surprised himself. 'Hmmm…' The assassin in training hummed as he was deep in thought to find a way to depict his train of thought correctly.

'At first, I didn't like her, because I thought she was just a ruthless and cold-hearted killer machine, but now that I got to know her a bit better and train with her, I do enjoy her company. She's very reserved, introverted and appears emotionally cold, but Akame also has a gentle side. I think you just need to get close enough to her for Akame to show that side.' Tatsumi carefully assessed, trying to remember all of his encounters and conversations with the crimson-eyed killer.

The way they got to meet each other was really not what someone would expect. It was definitely out of the norm. Something special. 'She almost killed me that night. I had the devil's luck that day, I should have been dead.' The lucky man mumbled with a light chuckle at the end.

'Wow, seems like you're getting along together pretty well. Normally she isn't that outgoing.' The manga-fanatic affirmed. 'I know that I can learn so many things from her and I'm thankful that she puts in the time and effort.' Her apprentice added. 'I ain't against it as long as you have your fun.' The other assassin approved by simply shrugging.

'Anyway, what I'm about to ask you now is just for men of culture. You're ready?' The owner of this room questioned with a perverted grin. 'Uhm, sure.' The innocent boy returned quite unsure but suspected something as he was slowly accustomed to this unsettling stare. 'Now…what's your favorite body part of the female population? What's your preference?' He asked loud and proud.

'Lubbock…' The virgin stammered, as his cheeks assumed a shade of red. That shade when someone was obviously uncomfortable talking about a certain issue. 'Come in, dude! Here you can be a man. You can tell me.' The pervert pushed him, closing the distance between their faces to an unpleasant degree. 'Err…' He stuttered, pulling at the collar of his white shirt, as the drops of sweat came crashing down his forehead.

'Don't worry. For instance I prefer ass. I love it when she has a well-shaped butt. Makes entering from the backdoor all the more enjoyable.' Lubbock justified a bit too detailed, but once you entered his room, there were two rules. First and foremost, there are no rules and secondly, should there be rules, rule number 1 kicks in full effect.

'Can I whisper?' Tatsumi asked as his posture grew visibly tense. 'If it helps…' The self-proclaimed womanizer sighed. '(Whisper whisper)'. 'Aha…Oh! Ok…Really? I see, you're one of those people…You're kidding! How didn't I figure that out sooner?!' Lubbock said, changing his facial expressions from serious to surprised and then to impressed, while his colleague explained which part of the female body he prefers and gave reasons as to why.

'So you like these…' The older assassin of the two determined, as he drew big round circles on his upper chest, which was confirmed by a silent nod on the other side. 'I see…who's your favorite of the girls here then? And remember Bulat doesn't count.' The avid porn reader pressed on with a devious smirk.

'Come on…you're basically reducing bro to being gay…' The newcomer, who held tremendous amounts of respect for this man, stammered in his defense. 'Nothing against our bro, but I'll be damned if I lose another brother in arms to the other isle! Are we clear?' Lubbock emphasized as if they were stuck in a brutal war, about to storm the enemy coast.

'Ok…' The overwhelmed boy muttered, before his eyes were torn wide open. The notorious pervert inched closer and locked his lips with the clueless young man. Instantaneously, Tatsumi shoved him off and placed a precise punch into his companion's abdomen, causing him to fly against the wall of his room. 'What the hell was that?!' The victim screeched at the momentarily dazed assassin.

'Was just a test to see how fast you'd react…You passed…You're as straight as a pole…Ouch…' The poor guy resolved, holding his belly in pain, as he was not prepared for such a mighty impact. The training his new comrade had must have been brutal and inhuman for him to pack such a punch.

'I could have told you that without you having to shove your tongue down my windpipe!' The upset male yelled at him with razor sharp fist, which were the signs of him turning into an angry chibi again, whose rage couldn't be contained (except by Akame's Karate chop, somehow…).

'You could have lied…' Lubbock reasoned still paralyzed by the pain the punch caused him. 'I'll sue you into poverty for sexual harassment!' Tatsumi shouted at the offender, turning into an angry chibi again like he already did today. 'You know that sexual harassment steps behind attempted murder because attempted murder is the bigger deal?' The geek informed him, now able to relax a bit more on the couch.

'I don't give a damn! If you do that again, I'll rip out your tongue and shove it up your ass!' The assassin threatened with the face of a monster that should not be messed with. 'Give me the bottle!' The angry boy ordered. 'I said give me the damn bottle!' He repeated even louder and ever angrier as his fist gave of an audible cracking sound, which mirrored exactly what the angry chibi would do with the bones of his victim, if it didn't execute his orders.

Once he received the other half-empty bottle of sake that they opened a while ago, Tatsumi gulped all of it down in one chug to wash off any remaining traces of Lubbock inside his mouth even though the memory would burn forever like salt constantly being poured into an open wound.

'Let's keep this between us.' The man, who initiated the kiss suggested. 'Gladly. You're insane. Do you know that?' The other teenager agreed, still shivering from the sudden attack as if a bomb detonated right next to him. 'You still didn't answer the question. Who's your favorite of the girls?' Lubbock persisted with this disgustingly perverted grin again.

'What do I know? I know you all just for a week, but three things are certain. First of all, it's not Mine. Second of all it's not bro and third of all it sure as hell isn't you!' Tatsumi replied, raising his balled fist again, while flames were raging behind him and his eyes as if he was the ruler of hell.

'Come on, it wasn't that bad.' The owner of the room casually joked, raising his comrade's anger even further. The assassin positioned his right fist, as if he was preparing for a lethal blow, which made the intended target twitch together in fear for a brief moment. 'Anyway, wanna do a marathon?' The Otaku offered hinting to all the mangas that were waiting to be read by the guest.

'Nah, sorry man. I'd like to but I gotta get some sleep in, so I'll be fit for training tomorrow with Akame. I got so much stuff to work on…Maybe some other day this week or so.' The apprentice of the 'Murasame'-wielder declined completely calm and collected. 'Just training?' Lubbock asked, giving him his dirty and suggestive signature grin. 'Oh, shut it, pervert!' Tatsumi grunted back, turning his back towards him so he could reach the exit.

'Ey, then good night and rest well.' The room owner said with a now sincere smile. 'Oyasumi. (jap.- Good night)' The guest returned, wearing a small smile as well, before he'd go on to depart. 'I swear one day, they're gonna kill me.' Tatsumi mumbled as he left the room to enter his own.

He laid himself in bed and let darkness take over…

(God, that took way too long. Please forgive me, if you can. I promise to do better in the future -_-)


	8. Chapter 8

8

Kill the family

5th January, early in the morning…

'Hm, it's snowing. That could complicate stuff, but it doesn't seem too bad. I should pack my stuff and get going while it's still possible.' Tatsumi muttered to himself after a brief look out of the window. Then there was the daily knock on his door, as he was packing some clothes.

'Enter.'

'Ready for training?'

'Oh yeah, about that Akame…let's say the boss has given me a 3 day vacation, so I thought I visit some people I haven't seen for a while, so yeah…'

'Where are you going?'

She questioned, furrowing her left brow.

'It's a few hours north from the capital. It's really no big deal. I'll be back around tomorrow night or the morning after.'

'I see.'

'That reminds me. I should pack some food and water for the road. Hey, if you want you can accompany me.'

'Ok.'

'Alright, then I'll pack something for later and leave a notice, let's meet in the living room then.'

'Don't forget the meat.'

In the living room…

'Do you have everything?'

Tatsumi asked upon seeing Akame with a decent sized back pack

'Good, I packed 20 evilbird drumsticks and 2 bottles of water for us. 15 for you and 5 for me. I know it's not a lot but I think it should be enough, considering we'll have a lot to eat where we're gonna go, hehe.'

'You still haven't told me where we are going.'

'Oh yeah, you're right…hehe. I'm visiting my family. I'm going back to my other home.' Tatsumi resolved and gave Akame a bright grin across both of his cheeks.

'Oh, if it is that…'

'Come on, I think they would like to get to know you.'

'I don't think I should be there. This is your family after all.'

'Sure you can.'

'Look, I don't want to force you into anything, but I'd appreciate your company.' He added

'Hm, let's go then.'

Later…

The assassins have already passed the capital and now headed north through the thick forest covered in snow. Fortunately the snowfall has subsided, which made traversing the terrain more feasible. All of sudden Akame's belly grunts.

'Don't worry, we should be almost there.'

Akame's belly grunts again and louder than before.

'For god's sake, I get it! I'll set up a campfire and roast the meat. Just give me a few minutes.'

Tatsumi groaned and started to gather some firewood by chopping off branches from the trees and what was lying around them. He used a match to ignite the fire and soon enough they had a fire to stave off a bit of the cold and roast the meat.

'I swear your stomach sometimes…but I guess that's why I brought the food to begin with. There's not a whole lot of wildlife going on here in winter, so getting meat is rough.'

'I see.'

'Itadakimasu, Akame, hehehe.'

'Arigatou, Tatsumi.'

Both of them silently munched on their evilbird drumsticks. Akame already ate 15 while he had 4. Tatsumi noticed that her crimson-red eyes were glued on the last stick that he just picked up and that if he wasn't just imagining things she was leaning forward towards him.

'Here, you can have it.'

'But it is yours.'

'Don't worry, it's fine. I know you're hungry so, eat please.'

'Thanks.'

'Here, have some water.' Tatsumi offered after she ate up the last stick.

'Do you want to rest a bit or finish the rest of the road now?'

'Let's get moving.'

'Ok.'

2 hours later…

'We're there. Huff…That ahead is the village I was born in. Huff…Give me a second.'

The assassins could see the rather small village in the distance. The roads and roofs were mostly covered in snow as it was usual for this season. Akame was taking in the environment, looking around to both sides, analyzing the architecture and the like.

'People like to keep it simple here. Plus, they can't afford a multiple story home in most cases like we have them in the capital. My dad is a craftsman and helped building a lot of these homes for low prize with the materials that were near like wood and stuff. The doors are actually out of paper I believe.'

'I see.'

'And? What do you think about it?

'It certainly is different to most of the capital. I think it resembles the traditional district quite a lot. The design is simple, yet practical.'

'Actually I just wanted to ask, if you like it or not, hehehe…'

'Oh, uhm…yes, it looks good. I like it.'

'Hihihi.'

'What is it? Did I say something funny?'

'Nah, I'm just excited to see my family again. It's been a while since I saw them.' He explained with the same bright and childish grin as this morning when they left their base.

'Then let's not keep them waiting.'

They arrived at his home after hours of walking. Tatsumi's hands were shaking. The boy knocked on the paper door.

'Tadaimaaaa!' (I'm home)

'Okaeri, Tatsumi!' (Welcome back)

His father said with a bright smile and hugged his son, almost suffocating him.

'We missed you so much, son. How are you? How have you been?'

'I'm good. Where are the others?'

'_Aniki_!' A high-pitched, girl voice shouted. It was his little sister. She sprinted directly towards him and jumped at him.

'Hibana-chan. Did you miss me?' He chuckled as he caught her with his arms.

'Only a bit.'

'That's enough for me.'

'I…I drew this picture for you. Do you like it?'

The girl drew Tatsumi with a sword, fighting a huge, fire-spewing dragon.

'Wow, this looks awesome, Hibana-chan. One day you'll become a famous artist.'

'Ehehe, you think so?'

'Phew, I'm done with cooking. We only need to wait for…_Tatsumi_!'

'_Mum_!'

'You're finally back! Ah, I couldn't stop thinking about you the last few days. We missed you so much. Hibana was looking out the window everyday to see if you came back.'

She kissed him on his forehead and hugged him close until she received a tab on the shoulder because she suffocated Tatsumi with her breasts.

'Oh, I'm sorry. Please forgive the apron. I'll go change real quick. Don't you dare leave, while I'm gone!'

'Don't worry, we got some time. I'm here now, hehehe.'

Akame couldn't help but smile upon witnessing the family's reunion. As if their long lost son would have returned from seemingly being dead.

'No need to be shy, come in.' Tatsumi giggled, looking outside towards his companion.

Akame slowly and quietly entered his home. She noticed the Tatami mats underneath them, so she made sure to skin her shoes at the entrance. At the same moment Tatsumi's mother descended the wooden stairs in a snow-white kimono, which matched her long and thick hair.

'Oh, who is this pretty girl next to you, Tatsumi?'

'I forgot to introduce her. This is Akame. A good friend of mine.'

'My name is Chihiro. Pleasure to meet you.'

'Daisuke is the name. Nice to meet you.'

'Are you Tatsumi's girlfriend?'

'No no, she's just a friend of mine.' (Tatsumi denied with red cheeks)

'Ah, I understand. I'm Hibana. I hope we get along together.'

'Come, let's sit down. It seems there has happened a lot in the time you've been gone.' (Dad suggests)

'I prepared some hot chocolate for you two. I'm sure you want to heat up and relax a bit after you've had to walk for so long in the cold. Wait a few moments though, otherwise you'll burn yourself. Maybe take the blankets from the couch for the time being.'

'I'll light the fire, darling. Where did you put the lighter?'

'On the counter on the right next to the stove.'

'Thank you again for your hospitality.'

'It's nothing. We love having guests. Otherwise we'd be working ourselves insane, hehe.'

'So, how have you been?'

'I'm alright. Lots of stuff has happened. And you?'

'As usual. We've been working a lot, but we're getting by. Now that it's winter we can rest for a bit until spring breaks. Also Hibana has entered school.'

'Oh really, how was school for you, Hibana-chan?'

It's sooo boooriiiing, we have to sit forever, we can't talk and we can't even draw during classes. Math sucks.'

'You're supposed to pay attention, Hibana-chan. And yeah, math sucks…'

'You must answer me this though. How is the capital? Is it huge? Are there many people living? What does it look like?'

'Well…it's not what you'd expect…it's huge, lots of people live there. It's probably not as fancy as you're imagining it though.'

'Explain how.'

'Living there is expensive. Food and real estate especially, depending on which part of the city you're in. Homelessness and muggings are big problems over there. As for how it looks…there are like different districts for example the traditional district, the slums, the plaza and so on and so forth. The traditional district looks really good though. They have like pagoda-style buildings and stuff, it looks really clean. In general, the whole city is just crowded and the buildings look bigger and fancier than ours. I suck at explaining.'

'And how are the people like?'

'Different to say the least. From what I saw the last few months, they're mostly either on edge because they're afraid that they might lose their job or they're just kind of…how's it called…burned out, tired and sad. It's not like everyone knows each other like here.'

'You mean depressed?'

'Exactly, mum.'

'Hm, I thought living over there was way easier than here.'

'If you can afford all the things you need, then life in the capital is way more comfortable. But for the most people it's rough. Salaries aren't the best right now and prices are rising.'

'I took out the food. It needs to cool for a few minutes though, before we can have a bite.'

'Thank you, dear.' Chihiro said and gave Daisuke a kiss on the right cheek

'Is lunch ready? Please tell me lunch is ready! I want yum yum!'

'Almost, sweetie. In 5 minutes.'

'Yay!'

'What did you cook, mum?'

'I thought since you love pizza so much, I'd bake some for your arrival, hehe.'

'You're the best! Akame I swear, her pizza is legendary, you need to taste it!'

'Did Sayo and Ieaysu come with you?'

'Oh! Erm…they're still on duty. We serve in different squads, so they gave Akame and me a few days off.

'Maybe you should visit their parents and tell them that they're well and all, while you're here. They've been worried for quite some time now.' His father suggested

'Of course…'

'And what exactly are you doing in the army?'

'Uhm, err…'

'We are both serving in the imperial assassination squad.' Akame answered, while Tatsumi was stuttering.

'Sounds like a pretty high position'

'It is, compared to a normal soldier.'

'I only got up there so fast because of my combat results. They scouted me out and then offered me a position there.'

'And I assume that's how you met each other?'

'Yeah, I swear I was so nervous on the first day, I bet you thought I was an idiot.'

'Maybe.'

'That means you've gotten pretty strong, am I right?'

'I guess…but Akame is way stronger than I am, she kicks my ass every day of the week.'

'You don't need to be so humble, you have improved considerably.'

'But I still have ways to go, hehe.'

'What is that?' Hibana asked, pointing at Murasame.

'Don't touch that!'

'Don't touch that under any circumstance, please. You might hurt yourself Hibana-chan.'

'Ok.'

'I'll get the pizza now.'

'Itadakimasu. I hope it tastes well.'

But before anyone could take a bite, Akame devoured the whole pizza and wiped off her mouth with a handkerchief, leaving the family with wide eyes and mouths wide open.

'I should have warned you…She has a healthy appetite, hehe…'

'The pizza lives up to your evaluation, Tatsumi. I approve.'

'I'm glad that you liked it, but the question is…what do we eat now?!'

'Mum told me, that your stomach becomes really round and fat, when you eat so much. Why aren't you fat?'

'Hibana!'

'It's a secret.'

'Can you tell me?'

'No.'

'You're mean!'

'Fortunately, I have enough for making another pizza…it will just take a while. Gomennasai…'

'Come with me, son. You can help me get some firewood, so the ladies can be a bit for themselves.'

'I offer my help to make another pizza. Please teach me your ways.'

'Oh, that would be lovely. I'd appreciate your help, Akame.'

As she headed for the kitchen, she could hear Yaboku and Tatsumi talk in the living room.

'I hate to bring it up, but do you have the money?'

'Sure, I'll get it real quick.'

'Wow, that's a lot. How did you manage to get your hands on that much money?'

'Our rewards are pretty decent. I saved most of it for you.'

'Thank you very much, son…I don't know what to say…And you're sure this is all for us?'

Tatsumi nodded.

'And you have enough yourself? I don't want you to starve every day, just because you want to provide for us.'

'It's ok, really. I don't need that much for myself. You're the reason why I'm still doing this job. I want Hibana-chan to be able to go to school, I want you to have a good life, so that you and mum don't have to work as much and I want you to be safe from the government.' He said with his arms folded together and a serious look in his face like his dad has never seen his son have before.

'Thank you again, Tatsumi. I'm so proud of you. This should be enough for the next few months. We'll make sure to put the money to good use.'

His son let out a deep breath and his shoulders slumped down.

'Make sure to dress up warm, it's been getting colder these days.'

'Will do.'

'Alright, let's go.'

Meanwhile in the kitchen…

'I'll lend you one of my aprons, if you don't mind.'

'Thanks.'

'Alright and now tell me what's really going on here. I know when my son lies and I have the feeling that he has been lying a lot right now.'

'He only wants the best for you.'

'I know, but there seems to be something wrong with him. He's changed so much…'

'Tatsumi will explain it to you, once the time is right. I shouldn't be the one to tell you this.'

'But at least tell me…is my son a good man?'

'He is. Almost to a fault.'

'Then I'll have faith in him. Ah, I still remember the days when I held him in my arms and cradled him. When Tatsumi was little, he always followed me into the kitchen and watched me cook. All the while he was using the rolling pin as sword. And now he's using real swords…He's grown up so fast…or maybe I'm just getting old.'

Chihiro still looked pretty young herself though, considering Tatsumi was already at least 17 by the looks of things. If she didn't know better she'd rate her in her mid to late twenties.

'Could you cut the onions and the paprika for me, please?'

'It seems you're experienced in the kitchen as well.'

'Tatsumi and I are cooking for our group.'

'I see. I bet he picked up a thing or two from you, hehe. If you want, I can give you the recipe.'

Akame nodded.

'Making the dough is a bit of a pain because it takes an hour until you can work with it again, so I'll put it upstairs where it can rise. Don't forget to put some sort of cloth over the bowl you put the dough in.'

'I see.'

'Is there something particular you want on the pizza? We have mushrooms, olives, pinea…'

'Meat.'

'Oh, ok. It appears to me you love meat. But Tatsumi and Hibana aren't different in that regard. God forbid someone puts pineapple on my pizza. It's nothing short of disgusting.'

'Agreed.'

'Slice the mushrooms into pieces but not too thin and not too thick. I'll cut up some meat in meantime.'

'Ouch!'

'That was Hibana! Excuse me for a second I have to look after my daughter.' Chihiro said as she was about to run out of the kitchen.

'Don't worry. I can do this.'

'Call me immediately, if it's something serious.'

Akame quickly moved out of the small kitchen to find Hibana sobbing and bleeding from her left hand. It appeared to be a cutting wound from the looks. Next to the small girl was lying one of Tatsumi's swords taken out of its sheath with an indicative trail of blood on them.

'Thank goodness she hasn't touched Murasame.'

She quickly reached into her bag and retrieved the first aid kit.

Akame dashed back into the kitchen and retrieved a towel and made it wet.

'I will rinse your wound to stop the bleeding.'

'Ah, it hurts.'

'What have you done?'

'I…I…'

'You played around with his swords?'

'Yes…'

'We told you not to touch them...They are dangerous, especially towards children like you who don't know how to handle them.'

'I know I shouldn't have…Sorry…'

'Don't tell him though please. He'll be mad at me.'

'It's important that we treat your wound now. Come with me.'

'Sit on the couch. Take my hand, if you want. This will sting a bit now.'

The small girl took her hand and gripped it tightly when she could feel the stinging burn of the alcohol applied on her wound.

'Ah!'

'Hold still.'

Akame carefully applied an anti-biotic ointment on the cut and gently wrapped a bandage around her entire left hand. Seeing as she had no scissor at hand, she just used the perpetrator of a sword to cut the bandage loose. Then she fixed the whole thing with a paper tape.

'I took care of it. You should be fine.'

'Wow, I feel better. It doesn't hurt as bad anymore…Thank you, Akame. You're the bestest.'

'No problem. Tell your mother to change the bandage at least every day.'

'Luckily, this was only my left hand, so I can still draw as much as I want hihihi.'

'No, luckily you haven't cut yourself deeper. You might have hit your nerves and permanently injured yourself or hit your veins and bled to death, if none of us noticed it.'

'Wahhh, I don't want to die. I'm too young and cute for that.'

'Then don't touch these swords, if you don't know how to use them. Especially not mine.'

'W-Why?'

'If you do, you will die.'

'Waahh, protect me please.' The girl sobbed and threw her arms over her head.

As Akame was about to head back into the kitchen, she could feel a light tug at her black skirt.

'What is it?'

'Thank you for saving me. And I'm sorry for calling you mean earlier. You're actually quite nice.'

'Just be a good girl and listen to Tatsumi and your parents.'

'Ok.'

Back in the kitchen…

'Oh, there you are. How's Hibana? Is it bad?'

'I took care of everything.'

'Oh, I'm sorry, I know she can be a handful at times, she likes discovering things and is too curious for her own good sometimes, but who am I to blame her…I wasn't much different when I was her age.'

'She won't do it again, I made sure of that. If there are any signs of infection, visit a doctor as soon as possible.'

'Ok, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks again, you're such a big help, dear. As for the pizza, there's not a whole lot we can do right now, we still need to wait for the dough. Later, we need to roll out the dough and put on the topping, but for now I can make us green tea and then we can sit down for a bit, if you want hehe.'

Meanwhile outside…

'It's good, Tatsumi. Let's carry a bit inside and the rest we're gonna stack outside next to the house.'

Tatsumi nodded.

'It's so nice that you're here again.'

'I won't be able to stay for long. In 2 days I have to leave again…'

'I don't care. What matters is that you're here now.'

He gave his father a warm and genuine smile.

'How was it here while I was gone? Did I miss anything?'

'Not really, everything is still the same. Your mother had a few sleepless nights when you were gone. She was afraid that you might lose yourself or that you might get robbed or worse. But everything turned out fine, am I right, hahaha.'

'Lost myself, got robbed for my money and worse? Yup, all of that happened to me that day…Good job, Tatsumi…'

'Yeah, thankfully. Looking back, I realize that so many things don't matter when you have to actually take care of yourself to live another day.'

'I barely recognize you, son…Before you left, I still looked at you as my little boy and now I see a different man.'

'Please, I'm still the same, hehehe.'

'And how are Sayo and Ieaysu? Did they take things well?'

'They…'

'They're good. Ieaysu is the still the same, old girl chaser. He can't stop going on and on about the women of the city and you know…'

'Yeah…I know haha.'

'And Sayo…She's still the same girl...She's calm but always good for a joke or two. She's still the nice girl from the neighborhood…'

'Nice…it's good to hear they're still the same. You've been close friends for a very long time now…I still remember the days when the three of you played in our garden.'

'Oh god, that was like an eternity ago. This must have been at least a decade ago…I'm getting old…'  
'As if…you have your whole life still in front of you. You're nowhere near being old, kid.'

'If you say so, hehehe.'

'I can tell though, your friend has had a good influence on you.'

'You mean Akame?'

'Yeah, seems you trust her a lot.'

'Hm…Akame is…she's reserved, she's socially awkward and she appears cold at first glance. But she's trustworthy, yeah. I know that I can count on her when I need her.'

'I've always told you: Be wary of whom you trust, son. Some don't have your best interest at their heart.'

'I found it out the hard way…'

'I remember.'

'It's better to only have a few friends, who'll still stand with you even at your lowest point instead of a bunch of false friends who'll abandon you and stab ya in the back at the first chance they get.'

'Of course…I think the friends I have right now can all be trusted.'

'That's good. Life becomes better when you walk through it with someone next to you.'

'Like you and mum?'

'Yeah, but that's a bit different. She's my spouse. A good friend for life is enough already.'

'How long are you married already?'

'20 years by this winter. God bless your mother. I still love her as much as the day we exchanged our vows.'

'That's awesome. I'm really happy for you. I hope I'll have someone like this in my life as well.'

'Your mother was like the one in a million…I was just damn lucky. Most people take years until they find their significant other, if ever.'

'How did things change in your life? When you got together and stuff.'

'At first not a whole lot. Of course we had this phase in which we were like madly in love with each other, everyone has that. But I think things really changed when Chihiro was pregnant with you. Because both of us had to take care for someone else and take responsibility. I think that was when we both became adults. It was rough in the beginning, but eventually we got the hang of it and figured out how to handle life with you, hahaha.'

'I wasn't that bad!'

'You surely took your sweet time on the day you were born. But actually you've been a rather quiet baby. Hibana was different in that regard. She was crying a lot. In your childhood you've been playing a lot and jumping around a lot with your friends. You wanted to explore things the entire day. In that you and Hibana are similar.'

'That's so far back…I can't remember a whole lot of my childhood.'

'Time went by so fast…I still remember when we went out to get wood and you tried carry way more than you could. And now you're easily carrying more than me.'

'And then you tossed a snowball at me!'

'Ey, you started it!'

'That might not be untrue either…hehehe.'

'Let's head inside before we catch a cold. I'm sure they want it warm inside too.'

'Yeah let's…Hachoo!'

Back inside…

'We're back dear. Sorry that we kept you waiting.'

'All good. We just finished the pizza. It just needs to bake in the oven.'

'And this time please leave something for us, ok Akame?'

'I will try to moderate myself.'

'I prepared water, if you want to take a bath. It will take a few minutes though, until it's warm.'

'I'd take a quick shower as long as the food is cooking.'

'Huh? Why are my swords unsh…Did she play with my swords?'

Akame replies with a nod.

'Don't worry. She's fine.'

'I should've just hid them somewhere where she couldn't find them.'

'Wait with the fire until after dinner. Otherwise, we'll be sweating during eating. You can call your sister though, if you're going.'

'Ok, will do, mum.'

'By the way, I cleaned your room and changed the sheets. It should look good enough, I hope.'

'Thank you, mum.'

Tatsumi headed towards his room with his bag and swords. His room was the first on the right. It has been months since he has been in the small, plain and simple room. There was no more than a wooden bed, which sufficed for his average height, a wooden, self-constructed desk with a chair, a nightstand and a small wardrobe for his clothes.

It appeared to him that they must have added blinds to his window during his absence as well as the carpet on the left side of his bed, which he didn't recognize. Other than that, everything was still the same.

He proceeded to hide his swords in his closet to make sure his sister won't look for them and dropped his bag with most of his belongings next to his bed, before he fell into his comfortable bed, which was just a huge mattress, a pillow and a white blanket.

'It should feel like home…'

'I need to get Hibana.' He reminded himself as he was on the verge of dozing off for the remainder of the day.

'Hibana-chaaaan, (yawn) dinner is ready soon. Mum told me to call you.'

'Ok. I'm coming in just a moment.' Hibana returned as she jumped down from her desk chair. Tatsumi noticed that she tried to hide her bandaged hand behind her back. Her room was dimly lit by a candle. She seemed to be doing what appeared to be her homework.

'Uhm…Tatsumi…can you help me a teeny-tiny bit?'

'Sure, what is it?'

'Assignment. I'm stuck here. I don't understand what they are saying here. This makes no sense! Ah, my head hurts…'

'Math it is, am I right?'

Hibana nodded.

'Alright, let's take a look…It says: 4+6-7.'

'What do I do?'

'Hm…Ignore 7 and focus on 6. They're the easier group for now. You can eliminate the 7 later.'

'Eliminate? Since when can we fight against numbers?'

'Err…I'm sorry. I mean add 6 to the 4 first.'

'That's 10, right?'

'Correct. And then take the 7 away. That equals?'

'5…4…3! It's 3! Yay!'

'Good job, Hibana-chan!' Tatsumi praised her and patted Hibana on her head.

'I think I understand how it works. Thank you, Oni-san.'

'No problem. Don't forget dinner.'

'Ok, I'll finish the exercise real quick and then I'll eat the whole pizza like your girlfriend. Me is hungry.'

'She isn't my girlfriend! And please leave something for us…'

A few moments later Tatsumi's belly let out a low and depressed moan.

'Whatever…I'll be downstairs in a few minutes. And then…yum yum.'

'Yes…Hopefully…' He muttered and headed back downstairs into the living room.

'Where is mum?'

'Kitchen. Wants to make dessert and get out the main dish.'

'This woman is just working way too much for her own good…'

His father and soon after Hibana entered the living room as well. Both were looking towards the kitchen what felt like every 5 seconds.

'I put the boiler on standby. If you want to bathe or take a soak, the water will be warm.' Father said, as all were anticipating dinner's arrival.

'Alright! Pizza attempt number 2! I can assure you that this one turned out even better than the last one. Akame was a great help in crafting this masterpiece.' Chihiro announced with an absolutely sweet smile as she served the pizza as if this was a solemn ceremony.

'Don't mention it. I barely did anything.'

'No need to be so humble, dear. This is also your creation. After this we'll have hanami dango for dessert. I hope it tastes well.'

Everyone had Akame in their sights, who had her hands underneath the table. The pizza was huge, even bigger than its predecessor, but there was no mistaking it. They knew this was nothing to her. The entire family knew of what she was capable of devouring in a miniscule amount of time. Everyone folded their hands together.

'Itadakimasu!'

The other family members quickly took their share, since they've all learned their lesson from last time and so the pizza was gone in pretty much no time. Seeing as Akame got the short end of the stick, Tatsumi decided to share his part of the pizza with her.

'Here…that's for you.'

'Arigatou.' Akame returned with wide eyes for a second. But then her surprised look turned into a small smile.

'Ah…thank you, mum…Your cooking is supreme…'

'Thank you, mum. Ah…my tummy…'

'Thank you, love…Your cooking never fails to impress me after all these years…'

'Thanks…' Akame said and gave a short and polite bow to his mother.

'There goes the fit body…' Tatsumi lamented, seeing as his mother already brought the plates with the hanami dango on them for everyone.

'They're so tasty…I need to keep eating. I don't care if I get a round ball for my tummy!'

'You're spoiling us way too much, love…'

'As if…you were hungry and I made dinner. That's all there's to it.'

'Ugh…I can't eat anymore…ask me in 3 days if I want to eat something…I need to lie down.' Hibana announced, while she had to carry the full weight of her inflated belly to the couch.

'Can I help you with anything? I can clean the dishes for you.'

'No no, Tatsumi. Sit down and relax. I appreciate you trying to be helpful, but this is your vacation. I'll take care of that.'

'If you say so…'

'Do you want to go to bed, dear?'

'Yeah…my eyes are getting heavy. It's been a long day.'

'We're calling it a day. Maybe don't stay up too long. It surely was a long day for the both of you as well. Have a good night.' Chihiro said with the sweetest of smiles and gave both Hibana and Tatsumi a kiss on the forehead.

'Oyasumi, mum and dad.'

'Good night.'

'I'll go nap too. Eating was way too hard. Good night.'

'Good night, little one.

'Good night, you two, ehehe I like it when you pat me.'

Tatsumi stood up and silently added a few pieces of wood to the fire that was about to go out. Then he sat next to her on the opposite side of the couch.

'Did you have a nice day?'

She nodded with a small smile.

'Now, that you've met my family…What do you think of them?'

'They are good people.'

'My mother is an angel…she is going to the kitchen for hours…just for us. She cares so much for everyone else. She's kind to everyone. And dad is still the same old workhorse than before, haha. It's nice to see that they haven't changed in the time I was gone. I think mum likes you.'

'You think so?'

'Sure. If she doesn't like people she always tries to subtly get them to leave the house, haha. And it worked every time.'

'Well, then…'

During this conversation, Chihiro left their bedroom to get some water, but stopped behind the entry of the living room as she heard them talking.

'Thank you for backing me today by the way. For a second I didn't know what to tell them. You really saved me there.'

'They will find out eventually. Your mother already assumes that you have been lying.'

'I'm afraid they'll hate me if they do.'

'I doubt they will.'

'How am I supposed to tell my dad that you and I are both assassins for Night Raid, who are working to tear down this entire fucked up government? How am I supposed to look my beloved mama straight in the eyes and tell her that all the money they received today has been raised by me taking lives and destroying families?'

For a few moments only the crackling sound of the fire in the back of them room could be heard.

'You would still be better off being honest to them rather than them finding out you're lying to them.'

'I know…but I don't want to drag them into this whole thing. God forbid, if someone finds out, I'm an assassin and something happens to them because of that.'

'Then you must cut ties with them.'

'I know I should, but I can't. We are assassins after all, but…I still love them…they're my family after all.'

Again silence took over for a few moments.

'I thought when I would come back here, it would feel like home, but it doesn't. The more I stay, the more I want to leave this place. Not because of them, but because of myself. It's pushing me away.'

'Is there a place where you feel at home?'

'I don't know…and that scares me. I'm afraid that after all this is over, I won't know how to live a normal life. That I'll keep murdering and become a monster…if I haven't already.'

'You are a good man, Tatsumi.'

'Can I ever call myself a good man again? After all the things I've done?' He questioned and looked down at his calloused hands.

'You are right. We have committed grave sin by taking the lives of others but you are kind-hearted like your parents. You put others before yourself. Like I told you before, we are bad people, yes. But we protect the good people by doing what is necessary to fight the people who want to harm them.'

'I don't know…I have accepted that there is no turning back…And I don't plan to turn back. Coming back to my family here reminded me what I'm fighting for. They are the most important people in my life. For them I would literally throw away my life. For them I would tear down this entire country to make so they're safe.'

'But god forbid they find out I'm an assassin instead of a soldier.'

'You fear they would reject you.'

'Exactly…'

'But if that is the case…why did you come here, if you knew that this would be an issue?'

'I don't know…I was just so excited to see them again and I just missed them…I guess for a few moments, I forgot that I'm an assassin.'

'Then you might have to settle for watching over them from distance.'

The room fell silent for a few seconds.

'Can you still do it?'

'What?'

'Imagine a life outside of being an assassin.'

'I'm not sure…I haven't thought a lot about that.'

'You're living in reality, huh?'

'It is quite late. I would like to go to sleep.'

'You can sleep in my room, if you want. Upstairs, first room on the right. I'll sleep on the couch.'

'Arigatou.'

'Oyasumi, Akame.'

'Oyasumi, Tatsumi.'

Tatsumi lied down on the sofa and put a blanket over himself. He dozed off relatively soon. Chihiro, who has been eavesdropping on them returned to her sleeping husband. This new piece of information had to sink in at first, but it didn't take her long to fall asleep.

Akame headed upstairs and put her belongings into his room next to the bed. She changed into her night attire and made herself comfortable on the mattress, covering herself with the cozy white blanket.

'I wish I could…I wish I could…'

The next day…

Akame awoke from her peaceful slumber and stretched herself. She took a brief look out of the window and saw the same sight as yesterday. The village was covered in thick snow as were the rooftops and more snow was gently raining down from the clouded sky.

'Smells like…ramen.'

Akame silently headed downstairs as if she was on a mission, making no noise to make sure she wouldn't wake anyone. She passed Tatsumi who was letting out small breaths. He chuckled and turned to the other side. The girl followed the scent into the kitchen and found his mother in her snow-white kimono that matched her long hair.

'Ohayou gozaimasu, Akame.'

'Ohayou.'

'Breakfast is almost done. We'll be having ramen.'

She registered a big cake with a thin candle in its center.

'Who is the cake for?'

'Oh, you probably didn't know! It's Tatsumi's birthday today. He's becoming 19 years old today, hehe.'

'I see.'

'Carry the bowls on the table, please. In the meantime I'll wake everyone.'

'Ah, he's so cute, when he's sleeping. As if he was still my baby, hehe.' Chihiro whispered. She knelt down to her son and gently combed through his brown, messy hair.

'Ohayou, Tatsumi.'

'Mum?'

'Yes. Happy birthday, son.'

'Thanks…Give me a second.'

'Happy birthday, Tatsumi.'

'Oh, thank you, Akame.'

'Hm…what smells so good in here?'

'I made ramen with a bit of chicken meat. The way you like it.'

'God bless you, mum…how long have you been standing in the kitchen again?'

'Ah…Don't think about that…'

'This woman is working way too much for her own good…'

Akame handed him the chopsticks, which his mother laid out beforehand. It didn't take long until the rest of the family joined the delicious breakfast.

'Happy birthday, son. I can't believe you're already 19 years with us.'

'Happy birthday, Oni-san. Now you're one year older, ehehe.'

'Thanks for reminding me! I know I'm getting old! No, seriously…thank you, everyone. I'm very happy to pass it with all of you.'

'Remember to leave space in your stomach. We'll be having tea and your birthday cake afterwards.'

'Mum! I swear...this is not good for your health. You're working way too much in the house!'

'I'm 37, not 60!'

'Still…ugh, I give up…Thank you, mum. We all love you.'

'Are there seconds?'

'Of course! Give me your bowl and I will refill it for you. Does anyone else want seconds?'

'I see…you still haven't eaten your first bowl. I'll be right back, Akame.'

'Dad…we have to do something about this…'

'No! Mama's cooking is great!'

'But Hibana-chan…'

'It makes her happy to see us all sit around the table and enjoy her food. And I don't want to take that away from her.'

'I guess…Do you have any plans for today?'

'Do we, darling?'

'No, there's no work that needs to be done. We have all day long to celebrate with you Tatsumi, hehehe.'

'Ok, then I should do this thing…the uhm…visit…'

'You mean visiting Sayo's and Ieaysu's family?'

'Exactly, dad. I'll do that later today.'

'Good. I'm sure they'll be relieved to hear their kids are fine as well.'

Chihiro looked down on the floor and then to her son. She gently stroked his left hand, which he had on his lap.

'Huh? Is something the matter?'

'Ah no, I'm just happy you've come here to celebrate with us.'

'Do you want to play cards with me, Oni-san?'

'Later, Hibana-chan. I'll go now. Can you come with me, Akame?'

(nods)

'We'll be back in an hour or two.'

'No need to hurry, Tatsumi. We're not running away from here, haha.'

Outside…

'They're not far away from here. First, we'll visit Ieaysu.'

'Tatsumi…'

'Huh?'

'They deserve to know the truth.'

'I know, but…I think it would break more things than it would solve right now.'

'You are making them wait for something that will never come.'

'I know…'

He knocked on the wooden door of the small home. The door was opened by Ieaysu's father. Over the time he certainly has gained a lot of grey hairs and a few wrinkles below his eyes. He still had that bit of his beer belly that he recognized among everyone in the village when he was a child. Was it his age? Or stress? Fear that his son never returns?

'Oh, Tatsumi! Nice to see ya. How have ya been?'

'Hi…I…I just wanted to drop by.'

'Ah, I see. Why don't ya come in for a beer or two?'

'N-No no, we really gotta get going.'

'Why did ya come over then, if ya don't want crack a cold one with us?'

'Well, I…I've come over to say…'

Tatsumi stuttered and scratched his neck. He averted his eyes from the man in his 50s and focused them on the seemingly bottomless floor underneath them.

'I hope ya don't fumble like that with women too, little soldier. Has work took ya voice away, hahahaha?'

He closed his eyes and took a breath.

'What I wanted to say was that Ieaysu is fine. We serve in different squads. That's why they aren't here yet. But I guarantee you, Ieaysu is doing fine…Your son is alive.'

'Have you heard that, honey? Our son is still in one piece!'

'Thank the lord!'

'And how is he doing? Is he still that old predator? Hahaha.'

Tatsumi mustered up a smile and his shoulders fell again to a natural height.

'At first he was. He couldn't stop rambling about all the girls of the city, but actually now…he's in a steady relationship.'

'And who's the poor lady, if I may ask?'

'Well…he met her in the city on night shift. She's a really funny girl. I'm sure you'd like her.'

'Wow, that's some seriously great news! And you? How's your 'situation'? Hahaha!'

'Ah no…work's been busy. Haven't really had the chance to think about that.'

'I see…and you're sure that ya don't wanna stay for a bit?'

'I'm sorry, I wish I could, but we really need to get going. Maybe another time.'

'Sure thing. How long are you still here?'

'Not long. We will head off either this evening or early tomorrow. We gotta serve again.'

'Ah, I understand. I'd advise ya to go tomorrow in like…middle of the day or early afternoon. Otherwise, you'll freeze off your butt cheeks.'

'Don't worry, we got that covered.'

'Ain't your birthday today?'

'Hehe…Yeah.'

'Ay! Happy birthday, Tatsumi!'

'Thanks, hehehe.'

Ieaysu's mother joined the group. She was wearing an apron around her light pink dress and it had a few dirty spots. She seemed to have been cooking until now.

'Morning, Tatsumi. Happy birthday!'

'Thank you, thank you.'

'Why don't ya folks come in? I just made some delicious cake.'

'I appreciate your offer, but we really need to get going. I'm sorry.'

'I see. But don't hesitate to show up, when ya want. I'm sure we can make it happen when Ieaysu is back.'

'Will do, hehe…'

'Aight, then we won't hold ya up any longer. I'm certain you gotta do lots of celebrating. Bye, you two.' (father)

'Goodbye. I hope we'll see each other soon.'

The door closed and once the sound subsided, he let out a deep sigh and let his shoulders slump down.

'Only Sayo left…'

Akame was by his side and looked at her companion, who seemed to have regained a neutral expression like her.

It didn't take long until they arrived at Sayo's former home, since they all lived in one neighborhood. Tatsumi closed his eyes before he gave the door 3 brief knocks with the back of his left index and middle finger. It was Sayo's mother who opened the door. The rather petite woman who had the same dark-brown hair that Sayo had and the same girly features that she had, gave him a sweet and innocent smile. If he didn't know better he would have mistaken her for Sayo herself.

'Oh, Tatsumi! What a pleasant surprise! Come in.'

'No, we won't stay long.'

'Please come in. Urgh, it's freezing outside.'

'Fine…'

They entered Sayo's home and both sat down with Sayo's mother.

'Can I offer you something? Tea? Something to eat?'

'No thanks. We just wanted to drop by.'

'Ok…but first off, happy birthday Tatsumi.'

'Thanks a lot. By the way, this is Akame, a good friend of mine.'

'Nice to meet you, I'm Ichika, Sayo's mother. So, why did you want to drop by? Is something the matter?'

'Well…Sayo is d…doing well. Sayo is alive. I just wanted to tell you this. She still has to serve, that's why she isn't here.'

'Oh, I see. That's good news though. I hope all of you took things well.'

'More or less…yeah.'

'You look like you just witnessed the end of the world…and your skin has become so pale. What's up?'

'Ah, that's normal in winter. Work has just been rough and we have to serve again soon. I'm just tired, that's all.'

'Hm, maybe try to get some more sleep in on a daily basis. Anyway…how is your family? Is everything as it should be?'

'Pretty much, yeah…'

'So they're still the same, old workhorses, haha. I just finished making lunch, I'm just waiting for my man to come home from work and then we will take a good bite. And you surely don't want anything?'

'What did you cook, if I may ask?' Akame asked, leaning forward with her typical predatory gaze.

'I made oni giri. They turned out really well. Would you like to have some too?'

'No, we really have to dash.' Tatsumi interjected and looked towards Akame and then door that would lead out of Sayo's house.

'You really seem in a hurry, so I won't hold you up any longer. Greetings to the family!'

'Will do. Sorry that we have to leave already.'

'No worries. I'm sure you two are busy.'

'Alright, see you again. Take care.'

'Goodbye.' Tatsumi said, forcing his cheeks into a smile.

'Phew…It's done. Let's head back.'

He grabbed his nose bone and closed his eyes for a moment and then moved on. He was untypically silent on the way back. Normally Tatsumi wouldn't stop talking like on their way from their base to his home, but now he didn't utter a word. Back inside…

'Tadaima!

'Okaeri, Oni-san, hehehe.'

'Hello, every….wahhh what the hell happened to my cake?!' Tatsumi yelled with edged teeth, while his eyes and tongue popped out of his skull.

'Hehehe.'

Hibana licked off the remaining spot of chocolate off her upper lip with her tongue.

'You!'

'Don't worry, son. I made sure to leave at least a piece for you and Akame. Do you want a cup of tea or hot chocolate to warm up?'

'Sure, why not. I'd like hot chocolate.'

'Akame?'

'Tea. The one from yesterday.'

'Then I take tea as well.'

'Alright, tea for all of us.' Chihiro repeated and vanished into the kitchen.

Meanwhile the father returned with a few pieces of wood and laid them into the fireplace to make sure it would be warm inside.

'You're back already?'

'Yeah, we just dropped by and delivered the news.'

'Ah, ok. And how are they?'

'Yeah, they're all good. They are having lunch now.'

'Nice to hear.'

'And you, Hibana-chan...This is not good for your health! That's way too much calories for a little girl like you. If you continue like this, you'll gain overweight soon.'

'Ah, come on. The kid barely eats anything most of the time.'

'But mama's cake was so tasty…I couldn't resist…I'm sorry, Oni-san.'

'It's ok. At least I get to have some too, hihihi.'

The young man rubbed his hands in anticipation for his cherry-chocolate birthday cake.

'Here, cake and tea for you two.'

'Arigatou.'

'Thank you, mum. You're the best.'

The family sat on the couch with Hibana having her head on her mother's lap and her father sat next to Chihiro, while Akame knelt on the opposite side of the table and Tatsumi was in between them like they have yesterday.

'But please don't cook anything big for dinner, really. We had ramen already, now cake. Something small, if anything will be enough.'

'Don't worry, I will make something light. Soup with a bit of bread or a bit of rice. I don't know yet. I can make some sandwiches for tomorrow. I'm sure you'll be hungry, especially you Akame, hehe.'

'That would be awesome, if you did that.'

'Alright, then I'll make some in the morning for your road.' Chihiro announced, while she slowly stroked through Hibana's dark brown hair as if she was a little kitten.

'How did the cake turn out?'

'Perfect as always.'

'Do you have more?'

'Sure. You too Tatsumi?'

'Nom nom…Yes, one more please.' He replied with a full mouth.

The assassins munched on their second piece of his birthday cake.

'I think I'll join your father in the bedroom and take a short nap.'

'Alright, rest well, mum.'

Chihiro returned to her bedroom, finding her husband letting out light snores. She lied down next to him and closed her eyes, yet she was only turning and switching sides and positions. Chihiro gave up on falling asleep so she sat up and got out her knitting equipment. She was knitting together a blue shawl.

Meanwhile Tatsumi, Akame and Hibana played several card games.

'Seems like you won again...'

'You're no fun! I'm going to draw now!' Hibana pouted and went off to her room.

'Did I do something wrong?'

'No no, hehehe…you just won a lot...She doesn't like losing, that's all.'

'I see.' She replied, staring back at him with her blank stare.

Suddenly Akame stood up and grabbed her black trench coat, her pink shawl as well as her katana and exited Tatsumi's home.

'Where is she going?'

Tatsumi cleaned the dishes and headed outside as well. He followed her footsteps until he met her close to the forest that would lead to the neighbor village. Akame had set up a campfire and was roasting what appeared to be an evilbird.

'So that's what you've been up to, hehehe. I should have known that you were going for a snack.'

'You can have some too.'

'But only, if I join Night Raid or what?'

'Have you decided to join us yet?'

'Sure thing, I'll join Night Raid.'

'Then I can share this meat with you.'

'Thanks, hahaha.'

Tatsumi sat down next to Akame and munched on the drumsticks she laid out.

'I'll count this as birthday gift, hehe.'

Akame was still very much focused on chewing down the meat from the bones.

'Do you think the others miss us?'

'Maybe'

'I wonder who ended up cooking. My bet is on either Bulat or the boss. God forbid Sheele did anything in my kitchen.'

She shrugged in response.

'You're as talkative as ever, Akame. You're really biting off my ears, hahaha.'

Again Akame shrugged with her shoulders and kept on eating. Tatsumi followed her example and returned to finishing off what was left of the drumsticks.

'Hachoo!'

She skinned her pink shawl and wrapped it around Tatsumi's neck.

'Oh, thanks.'

'When do you want to go tomorrow?' He asked, as his lips and cheekbones lowered.

'In the morning.'

'Ok. Then let's have breakfast and get going slowly, but surely.'

The assassins fell silent again. Akame cleaned up the remaining meat and Tatsumi warmed himself on the fire. He closed his eyes and took a nose of the fresh air, exhaled again and sat next to her unusually calm, yet with a contagious smirk on his face.

'I'm kind of looking forward to seeing the others again, hehe.'

A small smile formed on her mostly neutral face. The young man next to her stretched himself and stood up.

'Ah, that was good. Let's head back or else they might think we ran off.'

In the back, she was extinguishing the fire and joined up with him on the way back. Back inside…

The Night Raid members entered the small home and the first thing, which greeted them, was the seductive scent of miso soup streaming out of the kitchen. Tatsumi returned the shawl to Akame and wrapped himself into a cozy blanket.

'Did you have a good nap, dad?'

'(Yawn) Yup, god knows I needed it.'

'That's good.'

'You're going tomorrow, aren't you?'

'Yeah, we'll go early after breakfast.'

'But you won't leave without your gifts.'

'You have gifts for me?! That's so generous of you! That wouldn't have been necessary…'

His father went up to him and patted him on the head.

'You're our son, of course we do.'

'Thanks a lot. Really, I don't deserve you.'

'That's nonsense, hahaha. Anyway, I'll see if I can help your mother in the kitchen.'

'Ooof…we've done pretty much nothing but eating since we're here…'

'I don't know what you mean.' Akame replied as he turned his face at her.

And not much later, dinner was served. Hibana also joined in. Her right hand was partially dyed in black, red and other colors, but nothing of it seemed to have splattered on her light purple kimono that she wore for the past few days. Chihiro sat down, while her spouse served everyone. Her crystal, light blue eyes were barely open and she had her eyes closed for several moments straight.

'Mum…You look tired. Like really burned out…you haven't slept a whole lot recently, have you?'

'It's alright, Tatsumi. I'll get some rest after dinner. Don't you worry.'

'If you say so…' He muttered, still staring at her, while he took her bowl and filled it for her.

'I made the (yawn) sandwiches for tomorrow.'

'Ok…but please make sure to rest enough.'

'Yes! You need more naps, mama! Be a good girl and listen to Tatsumi!'

Almost instantly, Akame stopped eating and her cheeks heated up.

'You shouldn't talk like that to your mother, Hibana-chan!'

'You ought to respect your mother. But you aren't particularly wrong either…'

'Gommenasai…Mama, please take more naps. Aniki has a point.'

'Hihihi, then I'm going to take your advice to heart.'

'Did the soup turn out well?'

'Yes!' Everyone else answered.

The soup was 'taken care of' relatively quickly. Tatsumi and Akame decided to clean the dishes in Chihiro's place.

'Alright, Tatsumi. Now you'll receive your birthday gifts.' Daisuke announced.

'Uhm…yes me first! I made this for you, Aniki!

'Oh! This is Akame and me, right?'

'Yes! You are fighting this monster!'

'Oh thank you, Hibana-chan. I'll make sure to hang this on my wall, hihihi.' Tatsumi giggled and gave his little sister gentle headpats.

'Do you want to give him his present next?'

'…'

'Chihiro?'

'Chihiro!'

'Oh! Excuse me…I dozed off for a few moments.' She mumbled as she went through her snow-white hair with her left hand and let it slowly travel down the left half of her face.

'Dear lord…Darling, I'll carry you to bed later. You look like a corpse…'

'Thanks, dear! I love you too, hahaha!

'You know what I mean.'

'Err…yes…uhm I will give you your birthday gift tomorrow, son.'

'Oh dear mama…'

'Anyway, son. You'll receive my gift now.'

His father handed a small, neatly wrapped up box over to him covered in purple paper and a grey sleeve in the middle. Tatsumi's hands were shaking and only slowly and cautiously attempted to unpack the present.

'Just tear it open already!'

'Alright'

'Wow! This is…'

'I made this for you. It should serve as a reminder on your road that we're always with you. Hey, maybe you think about us and home every once in a while when you look at it. It should bring you luck for life and guide you, should you ever need it. This is something only my son should carry with him. I'm really grateful that you're with us and I'm proud to be your father.'

Tatsumi held the necklace in his hand. The small wooden, white-colored talisman was the kanji 'ten', which meant heaven. It was a neatly crafted piece of art and he could tell that his father put a lot of time and effort into it just by looking at the symmetry of the lines. The charm was fixed to a leather band, which was tied together with a knot.

'Dad…it's beautiful...I can't take this, it's way too precious. It shouldn't be in my hands, it would be a waste. It would be better, if you gave it to Hibana-chan.'

His father closed his hands in which the necklace was in and pushed his hand towards his chest.

'You're my son. Take it!'

'Arigatou gozaimasu, father. I really appreciate it!'

'You can also put it around your arm. Just tie it more together.'

'Ok, thanks again. This looks so nice.'

'No problem. I really didn't want to give you socks like on your last birthday.'

'I swear if he gave me socks again…'

'Yeah, it's alright, hehehe.'

'And you, Chihiro you little, adorable sleepyhead…'

'Hm? Waahhh!'

Daisuke picked her up and carried her towards their bedroom. They didn't return, so the others figured they would be asleep.

'We should rest early, Tatsumi. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day.'

'Are you going to nap too? Aw…'

'We have to, little one…' Tatsumi said as he patted the small girl, who was looking down on the ground.

'Alright…I guess we all go nap then…'

'Oyasumi'

In Chihiro's and Daisuke's bedroom…

Daisuke got out of his black trousers and his grey pullover and laid down beside his wife, who for some reason was knitting again like the past few days.

'Chihiro?'

'Chihiro!'

'Oh sorry, I was really into it right now.'

'What's bothering you?'

'Nothing…Why should I be bothered?'

'Sweetheart…You're always knitting when you want to distract yourself from something. I might not be the most observant guy out there, but even I caught up on that throughout our relationship…So what's up?'

'Nothing really…I just started with this piece and I just want to finish it tonight.'

Her spouse furrowed his left brow.

'There are no secrets between us. There have never been.' She said, laying her knitting equipment aside.

'If there was something wrong, you would know it already.'

'Chihiro…you know you can tell me anything.'

'It's nothing.' She mumbled, tilting her head slightly to the left.

'Anyway…our son has changed so much…it's almost scary.'

'He has, yes. For better or worse.'

'Are you trying to imply something?'

'No, I'm just not used to it either. I'm used to him being upbeat and almost like…a child. I think he really is no longer my baby…'

'We both knew that there was gonna be a point in time when our children would become adults and Tatsumi is now at that point and has become a man in the last few months. They simply can't be our babies forever, but he will always remain our son.'

'Of course, he always will…I think I just need time to accept it and come to terms with this reality…'

Her cheekbones and jaw lowered as well as her lips. The man could have sworn that her head was slightly hanging.

'So that's what's been bothering you.'

'Maybe, yes…'

'Just give it some time. You'll get used to it.'

'It's not like I had a choice…'

Chihiro grabbed her knitting equipment and continued again. Daisuke leaned in and gave her a tender kiss on the forehead.

'Oyasumi, love. Don't forget to sleep. Maybe you'll have a new outlook on that matter after you're properly rested.'

'I will.'

'If solutions were that simple…'

The next morning…

It was early in the morning and the sun has barely risen up from the horizon. They already consumed rice as breakfast and now they were drinking green tea together, yet none of the people involved spoke.

'So…you're going in a bit?' The father asked, sitting tight, holding hands with his wife, who was as talkative as a stone.

'Yeah, we have to…'

'You really want to go, am I right?'

'Totally, dad!'

'Did you pack the sandwiches, Tatsumi?'

'Yes, mum. All done.'

'Do you have everything, Akame?' Tatsumi asked.

She nodded in silence.

In this instance, a very tired and sleep-drunk Hibana entered the living room.

'Huh? Why is everyone up so early?'

'Your brother is leaving again. We just wanted to say goodbye before he goes.' Her father informed her.

'Wahhh! Oni-san, you're leaving already?!'

'Yes, Hibana-chan…'

'That sucks! Why can't you just stay?'

'Because…it's hard to explain. Forgive me, I'm still tired.'

'Don't you want to rest here a bit then and go when you're rested?'

'No, better early than late, mum. We don't know how the weather will play out.'

'The old lady at the other end of the village said, there will be heavy snowfalls soon…' The father added.

'Her weather predictions were always accurate?'

'Yes. They were always accurate, son.'

'Alright, then we should get going I guess…'

'Thank you again for your hospitality. It was a pleasure and I wish you only the best for the future.' Akame said with a polite bow.

'Thanks for being here, dear. It was nice getting to know you. I hope we'll meet again.' Chihiro returned with a small smile.

'Our door is open for you. One of Tatsumi's friends is also our friend.'

'Uhm…Akame. I…I…Thank you and I'll miss you!'

'Don't worry I'll be back, Hibana-chan.'

'Ehehe, you're already patting my head like Tatsumi.'

On the other side, Tatsumi and his parents were just standing there, none eager to make the first move.

'Do you want me to wait outside?' Akame asked. Her partner in crime nodded. She wrapped her pink shawl around her neck and headed outside.

'Aniki…Do you really have to go?'

'Yes, Hibana-chan. I know this sucks…'

'Will you come back soon, Tatsumi?'

Suddenly his jaw lowered and his mouth corners dropped visibly.

'I…don't know.'

'Oh…Goodbye, Oni-san.'

'Come here, little one…I'll be back, I promise.'

'(sniffle) Please come back.'

Tatsumi gently stroked through Hibana's dark brown hair and carried her on his arms. He put her back on the ground, when she ceased crying.

'Son…It feels as if you just arrived and now you already have to go again into the unknown…'

'I have to…'

Daisuke hugged Tatsumi. He could feel his father shivering in his embrace as if he was struck by lightning.

'Remember what I told you. Always stay on your guard. She's a good girl. Protect her and your other friends. They're counting as much on you as you count on them.'

'I will. Make sure mum and Hibana-chan are safe.'

'Goodbye, Tatsumi. We will miss you.'

'Goodbye, dad.'

Chihiro emerged from her bedroom and held something blue in her hands.

'Mama…'

'This is your birthday gift, son. I knitted this for you. You will need it, hehe.'

Chihiro wrapped a dark blue shawl around his neck until almost the entire lower half of his face was packed in.

'Thanks a lot mum…I don't know what to say…'

'Then don't…You don't have to say anything right now…Just know that we love you unconditionally. You're not alone.'

Chihiro fell into his embrace.

'Please don't cry, mum…(sniffle)'

'I'm sorry…Please, make sure to come back. Under all circumstances.'

'I will (sniffle) I love you…every single one of you.'

They could see that Tatsumi was on the verge of breaking down, but he held strong.

'Can you call Akame in for me?' Chihiro asked

'Sure.'

'Yes?' She asked.

'I just wanted to hug you before you would leave.'

'Please watch over my son.' Chihiro whispered into her left ear, while she hugged the infamous assassin.

'I will.'

'Goodbye, Akame.'

'Goodbye.'

As the two departed, Tatsumi waved at his family with his hands, while they became smaller and smaller until they were only mere dots in the white nothing.

'Dear…I have to tell you something…'

Outside…

Tatsumi hid his eyes with his left underarm that were producing more and more liquid. She could see his gritted teeth underneath. She could hear him sniffling and fighting back tears.

'I hate goodbyes…I just hate them! It's disgusting…'

'Goodbyes are inevitable.'

'Strong men don't cry, do they?'

Akame wrapped her right arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her.

'Thanks…Sorry, I'm such a crybaby…I'm probably going on your nerves right now.'

Tatsumi closed his eyes and wiped off his watery eyes. He took a deep breath and collected himself again.

'It's good. I won't cry…I won't…I'm a grown man.'

'This scarf mum made…it's really comfy…It feels like…home.'

Late afternoon/evening…

'We're there, Tatsumi.'

'Oh god, finally back home! All this walking has me exhausted…'

They entered and…

'Happy birthday, Tatsumi!' The other Night Raid members shouted in unison.

'Wow…thank you guys…I…'

'Ya thought you could run away from us on ya birthday, sunshine, but not on my watch!' Leone said with a bright smirk and shoved him into the side of her right boob.

'You guys, I swear…' Tatsumi giggled.

'This too feels like…home.'

It was going to be a long night.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Kill the justice

In the conference room…

"We have new assignments. Leone and Tatsumi, you'll go after a trio that profits heavily from prostitution. Our intel has it that the women they are using are being captured and then held in one major place. Mine and Sheele, you'll go after a guy named Tybil. He and his goons are the ones providing this trio with women. Going from the last few weeks, they're expecting a new delivery tonight most likely. You'll find the trio in the red light district of the city and their accomplices not far away. Good luck taking out the trash! The meeting is closed."

"Uhm…I actually don't have a clue where this is…"

"Don't worry, sunshine I'll lead us there. I need to get something done today, so we'll go in a bit."

"Whatever you say."

"We're gonna have so much fun, sunshine!" Leone exclaimed with a smile brighter than the sun and instantly shoved him into her breasts

_Why am I used to her doing this to me_…

"I'll take a short nap and then we can go."

"Alrighty." Leone hummed.

"Sheele, I need you to look at some of my new dresses." Mine said.

"I'll be with you in a moment, hehehe."

Tatsumi retreated into his room so he could rest a bit after an exhaustive training session with Akame and Bulat. Later…

Leone and Tatsumi were strolling through the vivid streets of the slums. They were almost instantly recognized by several of the civilians at the sides.

"So…what was it you needed to get done?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to take a walk with ya."

"_Pay your debts, Leone!_"

"What the…Onee-san, what's that supposed to be about?"

"_Run!_" She shouted at him and ran off with the speed of a cheetah. The dumfounded teenager followed her example and ran off without any clue as to where. Occasionally he peeked over his shoulder to see if Leone's pursuers were still after him and after what felt like an eternity of running through the corridors of the slums, he found himself somewhere in the middle of the city.

_Looks like I lost myself_…_Everything here looks the same_…

"_Citizen! You need help!_ You seem lost." An energetic voice shouted towards him amidst the crowd of people who were passing by. A young female soldier of his age jogged towards him with a pet on her leash.

"Uhm yes, hehe…I got lost. I need to get back to the slums and catch up with a friend, if that's possible."

"Don't worry, I'll bring you there!"

Her brown eyes were wide and radiant. Tatsumi wasn't used to this kind of powerful enthusiasm in this city. It was a stark contrast to the destitute, pale and joyless faces that wandering through the streets of the capital.

"I'll lead the way, citizen. Just follow me. I know every nook and cranny of this beautiful city."

"I'm right behind you, hehe…"

"By the way…since when are soldiers allowed to have pets during duty?"

"You mean Koro? He is no normal dog. He's my imperial arm, ehehe."

Suddenly Tatsumi's eyes grew wide, his right hand twitched and his posture grew visibly tense.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, sorry, I thought I just saw her. Please keep going."

"Anyway, he didn't bond with the high ranking officers, so they tested if he bonded with some low-level grunts like me. Fortunately, he responded to my innocent nature and was my loyal companion ever since. And I am Seryu Ubitiquos." She explained with an innocent smile, while she patted her little companion.

_She seems to be nice…Maybe she's someone like bro, who cares about the people and not the government. What would Akame do?_

He envisioned an adorable chibi version of Akame walking next to Seryu.

'Homeru!'

She sliced Seryu to pieces in an instant and walked back to base as if nothing happened.

_I don't think she will help me there_…

"Uhm…I see. Sounds really interesting."

"He always barks when he sees evil. That's another nice trait of him."

"Cool."

"Are you new to the capital?"

"Yeah, hehe…everything looks the same here."

"You will get used to it, citizen! Soon you will know this place like the back of your hand."

"Hopefully…"

Seryu lead him through the tight alleys of the capital and the way too crowded streets, while her long orange ponytail flailed behind her. She hummed mostly throughout the way and jumped like a little girl, who was about to go to a candy shop. After another hour Tatsumi recognized the area ahead as the slums.

"Alright, we're now a few feet away from the slums. Do you think you know the way from here?"

"I think I do. Thanks again for helping."

"Don't mention it! It's a duty of a soldier to care and watch out for the citizens in need. It was my pleasure."

"I have to return to duty now. Make sure to stay safe from evil. _See ya!_" Seryu returned with a bright, child-like smile, as she ran off to somewhere, dragging her little white dog behind her.

_Now I have to find Onee-san…At least I got to know someone nice. Maybe it wasn't that bad that I got lost_.

The sun was slowly setting and painted the slums as well as the rest of the capital in a stunning shade of orange. Tatsumi was looking for a tall, busty blonde that just by her eye-catching clothing should be easy to spot. And indeed, he did find Leone only a few minutes later.

"Oh, it's you, sunshine. I was looking for ya. Where have you been the whole time?"

"_Listen up! If you would have paid your debt, this wouldn't have happened! This is all on you!"_

"It's not like they could do anything to me. I'd just waste my money."

"But that's not right…you're stealing people their money."

"So? You've done worse things already." She replied and simply shrugged.

"Anyway…we got a job to do."

"Relax, sunshine. We'll walk in there, beat the crap outta these fools and leave unscratched. So do yourself a favor and don't get too tense."

"Alright. If you say so…"

"We should get going and start looking for our target. It's a bit of a walk to the red light district."

Tatsumi nodded in approval and followed closely next to her. Evening…

The sky has turned dark and the countless stars as well as the lanterns which were spread across the sides of streets that separated the houses illuminated the night in the capital. The assassins were jumping over the rooftops in search of their targets. Suddenly Leone came to a halt.

"Found it!"

"Urgh! What's that smell? It's disgusting!"

"Drugs. To make so they last longer."

The assassins were overlooking the huge building and through the glass ceiling they could spot countless women dolled up and clothed in skimpy, lascivious kimonos that left most of their legs exposed and put emphasis on their cleavage. They were wailing in masses, lying and writhing on the tatami mats, cramped together as if they were pigs in a stall. In the next moment two men in black suits entered the hall.

"Ahhh…I can't go anymore…"

The bald man slapped the prostitute, who reached out her hand, causing her to fall back on the ground with a loud thud.

"These good-for-nothings will probably make us some more money, but we need the next delivery soon."

"That son of a bitch! I knew her. Now it's getting personal."

"Taking out the trash suits both of us. Changing into this always gets me pumped." Leone said, as she balled her fist and flashed him a heated smile, before she jumped down through the glass ceiling and immediately knocked one security member out. The other assassin closed his eyes for a moment and jumped down as well to join her in battle.

"_We gotta go!_"

"_The only place you'll go to is hell!_" Tatsumi shouted as he cleaved right through one of the CEOs with his swords. Leone rammed her elbow straight into the temple of the guard and sent the other one behind her flying high with a jaw-crushing uppercut. Another henchman came slashing at her suddenly, but she dodged to the right and smashed down on his skull with both her fists.

Tatsumi was blocked by several guards, as he was pursuing the remaining 2 CEOs. They all charged at him at once, so he backed off. He reversed the grip on his left sword and lunched towards the opponent on the left. The assassin crushed his defense and in the next moment impaled him with the other sword.

His other adversary thrust his spear towards him. Tatsumi turned and caught it with his swords crossed. He pressed the spear down and kicked through the wooden part, before he sliced off the hands and then the head of this guard. The others surrounding him took a step back and kept their guard up. Some of them were shaking, their legs squishy like pudding and their arms barely able to carry their own weapons.

"Damn, he's killing them almost as fast as Akame. I need to pick it up, if I still want my share." She thought as she witnessed him cut through three members of the security staff in a matter of seconds

"_Leone!"_

Suddenly her colleague tossed a guard through the room towards her. Leone hit him with a rising uppercut, grabbed him mid-air and broke his back with her left leg as they landed.

"_I'll leave the rest to you. I'll go in for the target."_

"_Got ya, sunshine hehehe!"_

Tatsumi sprinted deeper into the building, while Leone clobbered the remaining enemies, who still tried to stop the assassins. On his way he quickly cut down the guards who protected the two remaining targets. He closed in on both of them and sliced through one of them with a diagonal downwards slash, leaving only one.

The assassin drove the bald man into a corner of the room and closed in on him and in the same moment his colleague joined up with him. She grabbed his neck and lifted their target up in the air with her blood-splattered right hand.

"I-Is it money you want? I-I can give you anything."

"Nope, we just want your life."

"Then who the hell are you?!"

"Just some good-for-nothings."

Leone punched through the target's chest with a smirk, killing him instantly and let him drop on the floor with a loud thud.

"Ahhh…that was fun! See? Told ya that we were gonna beat the crap outta these fools and leave without a scratch, hehe."

Outside…

Crickets could be heard chirping in the calm and pleasantly warm summer night and light-blue fireflies offered light where the lanterns scattered across the park didn't. The assassins walked through the green park on the marble tiles pavement.

"So, uhm…what's going to happen to all these drug-addled women?"

"That's not really up to us, is it?"

"It's just sad…" Tatsumi said, as his head lowered and his shoulders slumped down, followed by a sigh.

"I know a retired doctor, who could help them. He also likes young women, so I think they should be fine."

"I never knew you had a soft side, ehehe."

Out of the blue, Leone leaned over to him and stuck the tip of her tongue into his left ear.

"_What the hell?!"_

"I marked you as my future man. After the war is over, you'll be mine."

"You know…I think your imperial arms has way too influence on you."

For Leone at least this mission was an utter success. They headed back to base. Later…

"That Tybil guy was troublesome, considering he only abducted women." Mine mentioned, while they were running through the dimly-lit park with her partner in crime.

"He's dead now, so we did our job."

"It paid off waiting here. Now you'll pay for what you did to Captain Ogre and my parents, Night Raid!" A vile, hysteric, female voice yelled, as if nails slowly scratched down a blackboard through the tree crowns. The figure hopped down from a branch, facing the two assassins with an edgy, sadistic and psychopathic grin across both cheeks.

"And what kind of freak are you?"

"I'm Seryu Ubitiquos _and in the name of justice, I'll crush you!_"

"You know…we're two and you're all alone. We're just going to kill you off and pretend like nothing ever happened."

As the two were taunting back and forth, Sheele readied 'Extase' and herself for the battle that would commence any moment.

"Oh no, hahaha…I'm not alone! _Koro, show yourself!_"

The little, white dog rapidly grew in size as if he was some sort of unnatural abomination that should resemble a full grown person and all of a sudden two big muscular arms with veins running through his biceps popped out of his corpulent belly, coated in some sort of sticky, slimy fluid. The scent that came off it was as piercing and obnoxious as if someone rammed a dagger straight through your nose. His wide-open gob became as big as a killer whale with huge, razor sharp teeth, leaking fat drops of saliva. And his tiny eyes turned into huge black googly eyes.

"Gross…"

"That's probably her imperial arm."

"Well observed, Sheele from Night Raid!"

Mine took a shot from the hip and blew off parts of the tall dog's brain, but seconds later it regenerated all of the damage dealt.

"As I thought…an organic-type imperial arm."

"Organic types always have a core you can attack, so the weapon will break once the core is destroyed. Or…you simply kill the user." Sheele elaborated, as she adjusted her glasses and focused her attention on Seryu. 

The soldier pulled out two close-range submachine guns and sent Koro to attack Mine. Sheele evaded the rapid fire and lunched towards her. Sheele instantly swung her ginormous scissor at Seryu and missed her by the breadth of a hair. At the same time, Mine tried to create distance between her and the walking abomination.

Sheele quickly jumped in between Mine and Koro and blocked the bone-crushing punches the dog threw at them with her scissor. She cleaved through the beast with one clean swing of her sword.

"Thanks! That was enough danger to charge up Pumpkin."

Mine tore up his white, furry skin and left several gaping holes inside him, as she gave off a flurry of energy projectiles towards him.

"Nothing! Damn it!"

_I have to find the core quickly or else this will get uglier than it is already._

"Do you think you can handle him on your own?"

"I think so."

"Good, I'll kill Seryu then."

"I'll try locate and destroy the core as soon as possible."

"_I and Koro will crush you! Try whatever you want!_"

Seryu's sadistic grin grew even brighter than before, even more distorted, even more surreal, resembling the monstrous shredder of her dog. Sheele dashed forward and swung at Seryu to slice her head clean off. Missed!

"_Extase!_"

A stunning, bright flash of light emanated from Sheele's blade.

"_Kiyaaaaaa!_"

Sheele cut through Seryu's arms as if they were made out of paper. Suddenly 2 guns pointed out of what was left of Seryu's arms. She parried the bullets away, turned her scissor behind her back and severed the guns within one precise slash. On the other end, Mine did a good job locking Koro down under a hail of energy bullets.

_I shot almost every spot. There can't be many other places...It's gotta be there_.

Sheele swung her blade down towards Seryu's neck.

"_Koro! Berserker!" _

In the next instant he gave off a maddening sound wave, forcing the assassins to shield their ears and drop their weapons. Koro's skin and eyes became bordeaux-red in color. His size and muscle size nearly doubled to the point that his veins almost tore.

"_Koro! Devour them!_"

Koro grabbed Mine with his right hand and lifted her off the ground, clutching her like a doll.

"Will you save your little friend or kill me, ahahahaha?"

Sheele dashed back and sliced off Koro's right arm.

"Are you alright?"

"Ouch…I'm alright. That was close."

Mine held her right arm, which loosely hung from her body.

"_Boom!_"

Sheele was penetrated by a bullet through her upper chest. Seryu triumphantly showed off the revolver implanted into her mouth. Her face violently contorted into a vile, predatory grin with edged teeth and eyes, while drops of saliva leaked out of her maw as if she was her dog getting his scheduled food.

_My body won't move…_

Koro leaped forward in the next instant and tore into Sheele with his monstrous fangs.

"_Sheele!_"

The dog severed her torso from her lower body and splattered the ground with puddles of blood as if it was the rain that came from the sinister sky shrouded in darkness. In the background, Seryu couldn't stop cackling in utter ecstasy, as her dog munched on Sheele's chest and tore into her flesh and organs.

"Arghh!" Mine grunted in pain as she picked up her weapon with both of her arms. Her eyes were wide and watery. For the first time her trigger finger was not responding. Additional armed troops surrounded her by now, blocking off any considerable escape route.

"Ex…ta…se…"

Suddenly, a bright, purple light illuminated the utterly gloomy and hopeless night.

"Mine…Run…Survive..."

'Pumpkin' was not firing, shaking. Mine forced her legs to turn to the other side and run her away. Just away. Far away. The stunning light dwindled, was slowly fading like a candle burning out.

_Thank you Mine…that I could be useful to you._

_Night Raid…my family, it was so much fun… _

_Forgive me, Tatsumi. I won't be able to hold you any longer…_

A bitter smile crept on Sheele's face as she slowly had to face her end. Koro grabbed her again and devoured her whole upper body. Her metallic scissor crashed on the ground with a loud bang.

"S-Seryu? Errr…are you okay?" One of her colleagues asked.

"Did you watch me Captain Ogre? I shone the light of justice and defeated evil!"

"Is she being delusional again?" Another soldier whispered into the ear of the one who asked. She was gazing into the pitch black sky with a satisfied, innocent smile and reached out to it with the stubs of her arms, as if she celebrated with Koro, who was sitting next to her.

"Probably. Let's get moving. I don't know how much of this I can take without puking."

At the Night Raid base…

"Sheele and Mine haven't returned yet, have they?" Tatsumi asked.

Akame immediately noticed the bags underneath his eyes, his messy hair and his barely open, heavy eyelids.

"No, not yet."

"Hm, weird."

"You look horrible today."

"Thanks, I'll take that one as a compliment, hahaha."

"Got something on my wire! It's slowly approaching us." Lubbock said who came rushing into the living room. The assassins moved outside and spotted Mine limping towards them. Her clothes were torn and soaked in rain.

"Mine…where's Sheele?" Bulat asked. His speech tone was untypically flat.

"_She's dead!"_

Mine broke down as she had to deliver the painful news. Leone buried her face in her hands and broke out in tears. Lubbock hid the waterfalls that came out of his light-green eyes with his left underarm. Bulat's usually tall, straight stature was slumped down, while his right hand held his soaked, messed up pompadour-style haircut. Najenda remained there in silence, calm and collected, yet the one eye she still had was damp and betrayed her discomfort and anguish.

Akame stood in the rain numb and motionless, frozen on the spot with wide eyes. As if the wrenching of her gut paralyzed her. As if she had a knife dug into her chest and twirled around inside her. Suddenly Tatsumi stomped into the ground as he walked towards Mine accompanied by the cracking sound of the knuckles of his balled, right fist. A silent grunt escaped through his gritted teeth.

"Who did this?"

"What are you planning, Tatsumi?" Najenda questioned.

"_Isn't it obvious?!_"

All of a sudden Bulat smacked Tatsumi in the face and made him reel back

"Ahhh!"

"_You knew from the very start that all of us could be executed at any moment! Even you. You even said it yourself!"_

"_Am I supposed to sit there and twiddle with my thumbs, while my friends are getting murdered out there?!_"

"Don't Tatsumi. You'll only raise the body count." Najenda interjected.

Tatsumi remained silent. He was shaking his head up and down and crunched with his teeth. The red trace of Bulat's fist burned on his left cheek.

"Seryu…" Mine whispered.

"Again." Tatsumi asked.

"Seryu Ubitiquos."

His eyes widened instantly and his jaw fell down. As if he received another heavy punch from Bulat directly into his gut.

"Sheele's death was not in vain. The empire now knows that they can only fight us with imperial arms."

_Seryu Ubitiquos, I'll send you to hell for what you did to Sheele! _

As Mine passed Tatsumi it was almost as if their thoughts connected. That same aggressive and destructive aura that he failed to hide exuded from her. The assassins headed back inside with steps heavier than iron.

"Come inside. You will catch a cold." Akame muttered. Her gaze was pretty much the same as always. Neutral, mostly devoid of emotion. Yet her eyes seemed to be a bit heavier than usual.

Tatsumi followed closely behind her with a hanging head, not uttering a single word. He saw Leone immediately reach for the next best alcoholic beverage that she could get her hands on. She ran into her room and shut the door of her room. Lubbock was nowhere near in sight either and he could see the boss reach for her pack of cigarettes with a shaking left hand, while she quickly retreated into her office.

Tatsumi headed upstairs, but before he went, a familiar hand rested upon his right shoulder.

"Get some rest. You'll need it." Bulat advised. His tone of voice was flat and lacked this powerful echo that he was used when training with him. His hand tensed up, twitching into a claw, but he took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. His shoulders fell and his gaze softened. Tatsumi turned around and gave him a brief hug with his right arm, before he headed upstairs.

"_Ouch!_"

"Can you walk?" Akame asked as she finished wrapping Mine's broken right arm into a bandage.

"Yeah."

"I will cook something for you."

"I'll be downstairs then."

Tatsumi passed Sheele's room. It was a mess. The assassin set his foot right on the doorstep, but something kept pushing him out.

_I'll clean this up for you…_

He made her bed, put the chair back to the desk, collected all the little papers from the ground and stacked them.

"Need to water the plant tomorrow." It read in a clear, almost calligraphic handwriting.

He proceeded to collect her many glasses and put them back into her nightstand. Tatsumi stumbled over a rather thick book.

"100 ways to clear airheadness."

A chuckle escaped the newest Night Raid member when he saw the title in his hands.

"It was my first day…"

He went over the cover and put it back on her desk. Tatsumi spotted the book he gifted Sheele on her birthday.

_Did she finish it?_

He strafed the cover and went through the pages. There were many purple hearts on the edge of the pages and some text passages were underlined. Tatsumi skipped to the last page and found a little note.

"Best book I've ever read. Must thank Tatsumi tomorrow."

A bitter smile formed on his face when he closed the piece of literature. He was about to leave her room, but then the red shawl, which fell from the doorknob, came into his sight. Tatsumi slowly approached it and slowly picked it up with both of his shivering hands. It still gave off this gentle lavender scent like in this night that lingered in his mind.

(flashback)

"Just go in there and cry as much as you can. I'll hold you."

"Is this one of your tests again? If so, I won't fall for it again. (sniffle) I-I won't cry. I'm not as weak as you think I am."

"But…"

"I don't mind. No one will know."

Sheele made him on her lap and slung her arms around him.

"Thank you…"

She held him close in her embrace and then the dam broke. Tatsumi broke out in tears.

_No thank you, Tatsumi. Thanks to you I could be useful._

(flashback end)

That night she wasn't just useful to him. That night she gave him something he was dead certain he was never going to receive as a killer. Comfort. That night she made a part of this rage towards himself dissipate into the star-filled sky of the night. It was something that only she could give him.

"More than just a killer…"

Tatsumi's hands were shivering, as if he had Parkinson. He couldn't help but bury his face in it for several moments and cried into it.

"I don't know, what this is supposed to be about, but…" Mine said with sharp eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mine. I really am."

"It's not like you could've done anything. What you're doing here isn't gonna help either."

"You're right…Can I help you with anything?"

"No, I can walk on my own."

And with this Mine went downstairs towards the dining table. Not knowing what to do with himself he followed her and sat down on the couch facing the dining room. Akame put a hot soup on the table. Mine attempted to grab the spoon multiple times, but failed every time. Akame took a spoonful of soup and held it towards her mouth.

"Akame…I don't need you to spoon-feed me."

"It's getting cold."

Mine let out a huff and opened her mouth.

_Akame looks like nothing happened…like completely normal…_

Tatsumi went towards his room and sat down on his bed. He went through his thick and rain-drenched hair with both of his hands.

_I thought I was used to it… _

He lied in his bed and closed his eyes.

In the throne room of the emperor…

General Esdeath was kneeling to her superiors, the emperor, who was half her age and the prime minister, who stood close to the boy's left shoulder. The young ruler took the word.

"General Esdeath, we want to generously reward you for your successful mission in the North. Is there something particular that you desire?"

"Actually, I want to try being in love."

"I have a grandson. He might be a good choice for you."

"I have assembled a list with criteria my future man has to fulfill."

Esdeath handed over the list with her symbol on it. The reigning duo skimmed through the 4 major points. Some more difficult than others to meet.

"We will try our best!" The emperor promised with wide eyes.

"Now since you're taking on Night Raid…"

"Exactly, prime minister. I will need a group of at least 6 imperial arms users."

"Don't you think that this is a bit too much?"

"No, we only stand a chance against Night Raid with imperial arms. They are all extremely skilled assassins. We can't afford to underestimate them, because if we do, we will be bested."

Honest frowned at her evaluation. Words of praise from Esdeath were seldom. Especially towards her opponents. Her assessment put it a bit into perspective how terrifying and individually skilled they are, so much so that she, -his strongest warrior-, deems them a considerable threat to his reign, which remained unchallenged for years and decades.

"We will try to assemble a group for your purposes!" The emperor announced.

"Thank you, milord. I'm off to the torture chamber."

The general left off with a short and polite bow. She rolled her eyes, before a sadistic smirk spread across her face.

_This is going to be fun…_

Back at the Night Raid base. Midnight…

"Ngh…"

The moonlight shone into Tatsumi's face, awaking him from his deep, forced slumber. He fell back down on the bed. His stomach groaned.

"Aw…shut the fuck up…"

And again.

"Alright, I get it…asshole."

He forced himself off the mattress and stretched himself.

Tatsumi reached for his white coat and headed towards the kitchen in the middle of the night.

"Fuck…it's cold in here. Maybe Leone's stuff will knock me out for the rest of the night…"

When he was shortly in front of it, he registered that he was not alone.

"Oh, Akame…going for a midnight snack I see."

She was wearing a black cloak over her outfit and was holding a plate with hanami dango in her right hand.

"No. These were Sheele's favorite."

_It's an offering then…_

"She might have been absent-minded, but she was one of the kindest people in the world."

"It's impressive how you deal with this, unlike me…It's almost like you're used to it."

"What? I'm used to it?"

"_One of our precious comrades just died! There's no way you can ever get used to it!_" Akame yelled with tears in her crimson-red eyes, while she grabbed his coat with her shaking hands.

"It's true that I've lost more people than I care to count and that it looks like I don't care about them, but…on the inside I'm falling apart. _We're assassins! We have to!" _

She cried into his chest and he was left speechless with wide eyes. He didn't even dare to lay an arm around her to comfort her.

_I've never seen her break down like this…I thought she was stone-cold…I'm an idiot…it's time for me to take responsibility and be a man! _

Tatsumi gave himself a heavy punch to the face, where Bulat hit him this morning.

"_Tatsumi!" _

"I deserved that one. I promise you, I won't put you through the pain of burying me. We can see this nation change together and live in peace. How does that sound?

He balled his left fist and his eyes were no longer heavy and tired, but vivid and determined.

"I'd love that…"

She dried off her eyes and a small smile crept on her face.

"They're so cute." Leone chuckled who was listening to the conversation the whole time in the back.

"It's a promise?"

"It's a promise." Tatsumi repeated with a fragile grin of his own. They finished the offering together.

"We should rest. We might have a mission tomorrow."

"Yeah…probably…"

"Good night, Akame. Sleep well."

"Good night, Tatsumi."

The assassins went into their rooms and went back to rest.

_I have to protect them…I need to get stronger…much stronger…_


End file.
